6 days ago
Perplexity-powered Truth Social AI may limit info sources, giving Donald Trump control over what you see
Truth Social, the social media platform backed by US President Donald Trump, has rolled out an artificial intelligence-powered search engine that may give it significant influence over what information its users see. The new tool, called Truth Search AI, is powered by technology from San Francisco-based AI start-up Perplexity. It is currently available on Truth Social's web platform, with public beta testing for iOS and Android apps expected 'in the near future'.advertisementTrump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) says the AI will provide 'direct, contextually accurate answers with transparent citations' to boost the amount of information on the platform. But it also confirmed that the company controls which sources the AI can pull from, meaning search results could be shaped by its editorial Search AI uses Perplexity's Sonar API, which can retrieve real-time information from across the internet, even from sites that block Perplexity's crawlers. However, Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer told *TechCrunch* that the AI will only be as broad or narrow as Truth Social allows. 'We have no visibility or control over that,' he said. 'It's similar to using the API inside your own company or to search your own data.'
Testing by Axios suggests the search engine often leans heavily on right-leaning media. When asked questions such as 'What happened on January 6, 2021?' and 'Why was Donald Trump impeached?', the most common or sole sources cited were The Washington Times, and The Epoch Times. By contrast, Perplexity's public search engine typically references a wider variety of outlets, including Wikipedia, NPR, Politico, and chief business officer Dmitry Shevelenko added that the system's citations allow users to 'dig deeper' into any launch comes as Trump pushes for 'ideologically neutral' AI. In July, he signed an executive order targeting what he called 'biased AI', singling out concepts like systemic racism and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as 'pervasive and destructive' ideologies that could distort partnership between Truth Social and Perplexity arrives amid a broader move by tech companies to integrate AI into social platforms, similar to Elon Musk's Grok chatbot on X and Meta's AI assistant on Instagram and WhatsApp. It also comes during heightened scrutiny of AI's role in information control. While some tests of Truth Search AI have shown critical responses to Trump-era policies, the platform's ability to narrow its sources raises questions about whether the technology could be used to shape political narratives.- EndsTune InMust Watch
