Day traders and Reddit are loving Trump's new media company


It's a bird, it's a plane, it's...possibly another meme stock?
Digital World Acquisition, the special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) now tied to the latest media and technology venture of former President Donald Trump, saw its stock soar Friday morning, "triggering a halt for volatility" after quadrupling on Thursday, Bloomberg reports.
The ticker by which the SPAC trades — DWAC — was "was among the most popular mentions on Reddit's WallStreetBets, which indicated that DWAC could be having a meme stock moment like GameStop and AMC," writes CNBC. DWAC was the "single most actively traded stock" on Fidelity's brokerage platform on Thursday, with fans of the ex-president pumping the stock online, per Bloomberg.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
SPACs work by going public and raising money from investors first, only to then find a private company to merge with, explains The New York Times. Consequently, investors that back a SPAC initially "have no clue" who a merger partner will turn out to be. That means some of DWAC's big investors were likely unaware they were supporting Trump Media and Technology Group until a deal was reached to merge the two companies on Wednesday.
Since that announcement, shares of DWAC have proved "a hit" with day traders, skyrocketing 1,225%, writes Bloomberg. Its price "nearly tripled" to $131.90 when the market opened Friday morning.
The ex-president hopes the deal — which values his media company at about $875 million, including debt — gives him enough cash to launch a new social media app in 2022 dubbed TRUTH Social, whose purpose is "to create a rival to the liberal media consortium and fight back against the 'Big Tech' companies of Silicon Valley." Unfortunately for him, however, it looks like some hackers have already started that war's first battle.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
The struggles of Aston Martin
In the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rights
The Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
-
Grecotel Luxme Dama Dama: Greek luxury with a breezy beach vibe
The Week Recommends Rhodes is reimagined in this refined and relaxed resort
-
The struggles of Aston Martin: burning cash not rubber
In the Spotlight The car manufacturer, famous for its association with the James Bond franchise, is ‘running out of road’
-
Why are beef prices rising? And how is politics involved?
Today's Big Question Drought, tariffs and consumer demand all play a role
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B deal
speed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
Labor: Federal unions struggle to survive Trump
Feature Trump moves to strip union rights from federal workers
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fine
Speed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
-
Trump said to seek government stake in Intel
Speed Read The president and Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan reportedly discussed the proposal at a recent meeting
-
Switzerland could experience unique economic problems from Trump's tariffs
In the Spotlight The current US tariff rate on Switzerland is among the highest in the world
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to China
Speed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China