Former President Donald Trump’s new media company, Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG), announced Saturday that it has secured $1 billion in funding from a “diverse group” of institutional investors ahead of going public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)—a shell company set up for the sole purpose of raising money to acquire another company. The $1.25 billion in proceeds that TMTG estimates will result from the planned merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a blank check company headed by financier Patrick Orlando that was set up with the intention of “combining with a leading tech company,” will ostensibly go toward the development and launch of Trump’s forthcoming social media platform, TRUTH Social, as well as future related ventures. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “$1 billion sends an important message to Big Tech that censorship and political discrimination must end.