Trump Launches An Account On Would-Be TikTok Rival Triller

TOPLINE

President Donald Trump now has a verified account on Triller, a video-based music app that has seen a surging number of downloads since Trump began his crusade against Chinese-owned TikTok.

KEY FACTS

Key background

Triller was founded a full two years before TikTok in 2015. Both apps allow users to create short music videos, but Triller features artificial intelligence technology to edit automatically, according to Digiday. Triller co-owner Ryan Kavanaugh told CNBC last week that they “see themselves as the adult version” of Tiktok, and consider the app “a stepping stone to Triller,” intended to be downloaded by an older demographic. Josh Richards, a popular social media influencer with more than 20 million followers on TikTok, recently took a position as chief strategy officer at Triller, signalling a potential migration of top talent if TikTok continues to be embroiled in security scrutiny. Triller has acquired streaming rights to the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. slated for November, a major get for the company.

Further reading

Triller on being TikTok’s rival: We see ‘ourselves as the adult version’ (CNBC)

Triller Overtakes TikTok, Jumps To No. 1 In App Store As Drama Continues (Forbes)