You may recall that, back when Facebook started changing WhatsAppâs terms of service, a number of news outlets reported on, and even recommended, switching to Telegram. Pavel Durov even said that users should delete WhatsApp âunless you are cool with all of your photos and messages becoming public one day.â But Telegram canât be described as a more-secure version of WhatsApp. A Russian Telegram channel with over 700,000 followers is spreading disinformation about Russia's invasion of Ukraine under the guise of providing "objective information" and fact-checking fake news. Its influence extends beyond the platform, with major Russian publications, government officials, and journalists citing the page's posts. 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 â which followers can join but not reply to â means content from inauthentic accounts can easily reach large, captive and eager audiences. Additionally, investors are often instructed to deposit monies into personal bank accounts of individuals who claim to represent a legitimate entity, and/or into an unrelated corporate account. To lend credence and to lure unsuspecting victims, perpetrators usually claim that their entity and/or the investment schemes are approved by financial authorities. On Telegramâs website, it says that Pavel Durov âsupports Telegram financially and ideologically while Nikolai (Duvov)âs input is technological.â Currently, the Telegram team is based in Dubai, having moved around from Berlin, London and Singapore after departing Russia. Meanwhile, the company which owns Telegram is registered in the British Virgin Islands.
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