At its heart, Telegram is little more than a messaging app like WhatsApp or Signal. But it also offers open channels that enable a single user, or a group of users, to communicate with large numbers in a method similar to a Twitter account. This has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for Telegram and its users, since these channels can be used for both good and ill. Right now, as Wired reports, the app is a key way for Ukrainians to receive updates from the government during the invasion. "And that set off kind of a battle royale for control of the platform that Durov eventually lost," said Nathalie Maréchal of the Washington advocacy group Ranking Digital Rights. "Your messages about the movement of the enemy through the official chatbot … bring new trophies every day," the government agency tweeted. Although some channels have been removed, the curation process is considered opaque and insufficient by analysts. False news often spreads via public groups, or chats, with potentially fatal effects.
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