The channel appears to be part of the broader information war that has developed following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin has paid Russian TikTok influencers to push propaganda, according to a Vice News investigation, while ProPublica found that fake Russian fact check videos had been viewed over a million times on Telegram. Such instructions could actually endanger people — citizens receive air strike warnings via smartphone alerts. Again, in contrast to Facebook, Google and Twitter, Telegram's founder Pavel Durov runs his company in relative secrecy from Dubai. Despite Telegram's origins, its approach to users' security has privacy advocates worried. Perpetrators of such fraud use various marketing techniques to attract subscribers on their social media channels.
from ar