I got a first look at MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's new social media platform, and it feels like Facebook circa 2012
- Insider got access to Mike Lindell's Frank Social social media platform before its official launch.
- The site has basic features similar to Facebook's early 2010s iteration.
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's Frank Social — his social media platform, which he hopes will become a Facebook replacement among right-leaning social media users — is finally ready.
Insider got a first look at the web-based site for Lindell's Frank Social early on Thursday. A mobile app — which Lindell told Insider is pending approval on the Apple and Google Play app stores — is also in the works.
Lindell first hinted at his plans to build this social media platform in April 2021, when he launched the beta version of his streaming platform, Frank Speech. Frank Social, which has been more than a year in the making, is now live, and people can sign in and create accounts.
Unlike former President Donald Trump's Truth Social, which subjected potential users to long wait times, it was easy for me to create an account on the Frank Social site. I was greeted by an image of the pillow CEO grinning and holding an American flag before prompts appeared for me to create my profile. Users on Frank Social must fill in an email address and a phone number to create an account.
What greeted me upon a successful login was a homepage that reminded me a lot of Facebook in 2012, when people could send pokes to each other and everyone was playing Farmville.
Frank Social has the basic functions of a social media platform, including allowing people to follow each other. The platform also comes with a function to post one's thoughts, or, as the site says, whatever's "on your mind."
One thing missing from the platform at the moment is a messaging function. People can post comments and like each other's posts. And despite billing itself as a Facebook alternative, Frank Social allows users to share links to posts on other platforms like Facebook and Telegram.
As an early platform user, I don't feel that I got the full "Frank Social experience." Lindell is the biggest user on the platform, with 308 followers at press time.
Other early users on the platform include Trump vloggers Diamond and Silk, and Emerald Robinson, a former Newsmax host best known for claiming that the COVID-19 vaccines contain satanic trackers. Trump ally Steve Bannon, who is facing a criminal contempt charge after defying a subpoena from the January 6 panel investigating the Capitol riot, also has a presence on Frank Social — in the form of a page for his podcast, "War Room."
One of the primary tabs on Frank Social's navigation bar is a link to Lindell's MyPillow store. Interestingly, the site does come with a very fetching "dark mode" function, which makes the neon pink ticks that appear to represent verified users look cute.
In March, when asked if Frank Social would be viewed as a competitor to Trump's Twitter-like Truth Social, Lindell said he thought of it instead as a substitute for Facebook, unlike Truth Social, which is billed as a Twitter alternative.
Lindell told Insider on Thursday that he expects "immediate approval" for the mobile app version of Frank Social, and is looking forward to its launch.
Lindell told Insider in March that he was investing upwards of $1 million a month on Frank Speech, his video streaming app meant to be his competitor to YouTube, and Frank Social's launch.