The Telegram messenger founded by Pavel Durov has become an essential source of information about the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Such notice Express journalist Masha Borak in the material of The Verge portal.
As the author of the article notes, Telegram “has gained enormous influence over one of the most discussed conflicts in the world”.
“Telegram is fantastic for so many reasons, and also because we got to see what’s happening at such a crucial time in history,” said Jordan Wheeldon, founder of open-source intelligence agency Prose Intelligence (OSINT ).
Despite its “unique historical role”, Telegram has become a challenge – messaging users, according to the creators, are protected from surveillance, but at the same time the platform has become a tool for misinformation and manipulation, according to the ‘article.
At certain times in Russia, Telegram has become “the only news source subject to severe state censorship,” says Borak. In his opinion, for Ukrainians trying to track the movement of troops, the messenger became a “lifeline”, and for the rest of the world – “a window into (an armed conflict) that destabilized the world.”
Pro-war bloggers
One of the publication’s most important sources of information are Russian pro-war bloggers who write in Telegram. One such channel is Rybar, created by former Defense Ministry press secretary Mikhail Zvinchuk.
In an interview with The Verge, Zvinchuk noted that Telegram demonstrated its power of influence at the time of the attempted armed rebellion by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner PMC.
“The rebellion of Yevgeny Prigojine showed that all information was disseminated exclusively by Telegram. Telegram has become the main tool for transmitting information, and it is trusted more than traditional media, because they have censorship,” he said.
Zvinchuk noted that his channel receives information from Russian and Ukrainian sources.
“Basically, we created a sort of private intelligence agency based on Telegram,” the creator of Rybar pointed out.
Through the eyes of the participants
Telegram, which is run by a team of just 30 people, has given its users the opportunity to watch the fighting in Ukraine through the eyes of those involved, writes Borak. She recalls that the number of active users of messaging is 700 million per month.
According to Borak, Telegram fulfills the role of war correspondents who have been censored. It publishes up-to-date combat data illustrated with maps, videos and photos from social networks.
However, the fact that the platform gives content creators almost total freedom of action has made Telegram a safe haven for extremists, conspiracy theorists and criminals, the publication says.
The author of the article points out that Russian authorities also have the ability to “promote stories” in the messenger and that “Russian propagandists” and state media have their own popular channels.
Telegram spokesperson Remy Vaughn explained that the platform’s guiding principle is neutrality of information and equal treatment, regardless of the political views of some users. Vaughn claims that Telegram has “never shared data with the FSB or any other authority in Russia.”
We don’t know what game they’re playing
Many popular military channels are linked to current and former security officials, said Eto Buziashvili of the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab).
“We cannot know for sure what their plans are and what game they are playing,” the expert warned.
The creator of the Rybar channel, Zvinchuk, does not hide that he has established contacts with certain organizations engaged in the coverage of information by the Ministry of Defense.
“We share information, we solve certain problems and together we play certain tricks in order to harm the enemy,” he says.
Some experts see Telegram as a platform where the next big news about the unfolding conflict between Russia and Ukraine, including the nuclear strike, could be the first to appear.
“Telegram will probably be the first place to post this, and it will happen quickly,” said Prose Intelligence founder Jordan Wheeldon.
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