It is unclear who runs the account, although Russia's official Ministry of Foreign Affairs Twitter account promoted the Telegram channel on Saturday and claimed it was operated by "a group of experts & journalists." In 2018, Russia banned Telegram although it reversed the prohibition two years later. Again, in contrast to Facebook, Google and Twitter, Telegram's founder Pavel Durov runs his company in relative secrecy from Dubai. False news often spreads via public groups, or chats, with potentially fatal effects. Such instructions could actually endanger people — citizens receive air strike warnings via smartphone alerts.
from hk