Bundespräsident Steinmeier (SPD) zur bevorstehenden Wahl: „Einflussnahme von außen ist eine Gefahr für die Demokratie, egal ob sie verdeckt erfolgt... oder offen und unverhohlen, wie dies derzeit auf der Plattform X besonders intensiv praktiziert wird.“
Bundespräsident Steinmeier (SPD) zur bevorstehenden Wahl: „Einflussnahme von außen ist eine Gefahr für die Demokratie, egal ob sie verdeckt erfolgt... oder offen und unverhohlen, wie dies derzeit auf der Plattform X besonders intensiv praktiziert wird.“
Telegram boasts 500 million users, who share information individually and in groups in relative security. But Telegram's use as a one-way broadcast channel — which followers can join but not reply to — means content from inauthentic accounts can easily reach large, captive and eager audiences. Telegram has become more interventionist over time, and has steadily increased its efforts to shut down these accounts. But this has also meant that the company has also engaged with lawmakers more generally, although it maintains that it doesn’t do so willingly. For instance, in September 2021, Telegram reportedly blocked a chat bot in support of (Putin critic) Alexei Navalny during Russia’s most recent parliamentary elections. Pavel Durov was quoted at the time saying that the company was obliged to follow a “legitimate” law of the land. He added that as Apple and Google both follow the law, to violate it would give both platforms a reason to boot the messenger from its stores. He floated the idea of restricting the use of Telegram in Ukraine and Russia, a suggestion that was met with fierce opposition from users. Shortly after, Durov backed off the idea. 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. "Your messages about the movement of the enemy through the official chatbot … bring new trophies every day," the government agency tweeted.
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