Telegram's Pavel Durov's arrest and the alarming rise of a propaganda messenger app

Telegram : Pavel Durov‘s arrest & the alarming rise of a propaganda messenger app

Olha Konsevych

Telegram is a messenger that is popular in Eastern Europe but is gradually gaining popularity worldwide.

Recently, it made headlines due to the high-profile arrest in France of its founder, Russian national Pavel Durov.

Pavel Durov has been charged with 12 crimes related to Telegram, including refusal to provide information necessary for investigations at the request of law enforcement; complicity in the distribution of prohibited substances; complicity in cybercrimes; complicity in fraud; money laundering obtained through criminal means; illegal provision of cryptographic services and tools to ensure confidentiality; and complicity in the storage of pornographic content involving minors.

The founder of Telegram has been banned from leaving France. Additionally, he must post bail in the amount of five million euros, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

“Recently, Telegram has become a subject of concern for Indian authorities. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has requested an investigation into allegations of illegal content on the platform, ranging from fraud, extortion, drugs, and gambling, being shared by users without any oversight by the platform.”

“Telegram has become an attractive platform for information operations. It has loose content moderation policies. And basically, we have seen very few cases where any kind of content was taken down for content violation,” explained Eto Buziashvili, a Research Associate at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab).

A weapon of Russian propaganda

Durov entered Russia more than 50 times between 2015 and 2021. Despite his 2014 statement that “there is no turning back” and that he would not return to his homeland due to his refusal to cooperate with the authorities, he was in Russia in 2017 when the FSB demanded encryption keys and in 2020 when Roskomnadzor lifted the ban on the messenger, as reported by the investigative journalists of “Important Stories.”

Pavel Durov obtained French citizenship in August 2021, less than a year after becoming a citizen of the United Arab Emirates. Nevertheless, Durov is still a Russian citizen.

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But why do many analysts see Telegram as a threat to democracy and security in many countries?

This messenger has become the main tool of Russian propaganda due to its user-friendly access, the ability to operate anonymously or use already established networks of propagandists.

A Ukrainian OSINT agency, Molfar, regularly collects evidence of the dangerous influence of Telegram and shares its observations with Mahabahu.

“The platform’s lack of content moderation, alongside with the network of public channels and groups, allows graphic and violent content to rapidly reach millions of people,” said Molfar CEO and founder Artem Starosiek.

The most dangerous is the “weaponization” of Telegram. As the Atlantic Council explains, since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, no platform has expanded its role in helping the outside world to understand the Russian perspective on the war more than Telegram.

“This messaging app is one of the last remaining windows in Russian thinking about the war. Moreover, Kremlin has been playing a huge role in popularizing this messaging of insight for the domestic Russian audience. So Russia turned Telegram into the second front along its physical kinetic front against Ukraine,” added Eto Buziashvili.

Telegram's dark side: Pavel Durov's arrest and the alarming rise of a propaganda messenger app!

Telegram has gotten into trouble all over the world

According to Surfshark, 31 countries have banned the Telegram platform since 2015, either temporarily or permanently. Telegram was banned in Iran in 2018 and in Thailand from 2020 after it was used to organize anti-government protests.

Norway banned both Telegram and TikTok for ministers, state secretaries, and political advisers on work devices.

Germany also considered banning Telegram after accusing it of facilitating hate speech and conspiracy theories, but the messaging app is still operating in the country.

In the UK, Telegram was used to plan and coordinate anti-immigrant riots in early August. However, no action has been taken so far against Telegram.

Ukraine ranks sixth in the world for the number of channels with over 1 million subscribers. During shillings, power outages, and the need for quick access to information, many Ukrainians have started replacing traditional media with news Telegram channels. This messenger is very popular despite all the dangers.

At the activist level, the possibility of blocking it is often discussed, which could help reduce the harmful influence of Russian propaganda in the messenger. However, there has been no official decision from the authorities yet. Andriy Kovalenko, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD), believes that blocking Telegram in Ukraine could do more harm than good.

Telegram is an important tool for intelligence services worldwide, including Ukrainian intelligence, which uses the platform to gather information from Russia. Therefore, a hasty ban on the messenger is not a prudent solution.

Recently, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to Durov’s arrest and dismissed the possibility of a ban.

“It seems to me that no one knows all the details of the case. As of today, this does not affect the fact that Telegram operates in Ukraine,” Zelensky commented on the situation.

Recently, Telegram has become a subject of concern for Indian authorities. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has requested an investigation into allegations of illegal content on the platform, ranging from fraud, extortion, drugs, and gambling, being shared by users without any oversight by the platform.

Olha Konsevych: Journalist, researcher | Vital Voices | GMF | WZB Berlin | Max Planck Society alumna || Mahabahu Correspondent

29-08-2024

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