In wake of Trump ban, Facebook rival MeWe gains 2.5 million members in one week

MeWe — a social media company that bills itself as a direct competitor to Facebook — has seen its membership surge by 2.5 million over the past week alone, according to media reports, following tech purges of former U.S. President Donald Trump and other conservatives. 

The company on Wednesday shared via Twiter that it was also "the #2 downloaded social app in the Google Play Store" at the time. 

The company in that tweet styled itself as "the only social network on the list that treats its members as customers to serve - not data to share, target, or sell."

Dominant social media companies Facebook and Twitter have been the subjects of significant backlash in the wake of their bans of Trump just days before his term was set to expire. The executives of those companies cited alleged fears that Trump might incite violence among his supporters after the Capitol riot of Jan. 6. 

The companies witnessed billions in financial losses following those bans, while users were reportedly leaving the sites in droves and flocking to alternative social media platforms.