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. 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 doesnât do so willingly. For instance, in September 2021, Telegram reportedly blocked a chat bot in support of (Putin critic) Alexei Navalny during Russiaâs most recent parliamentary elections. Pavel Durov was quoted at the time saying that the company was obliged to follow a âlegitimateâ 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. As a result, the pandemic saw many newcomers to Telegram, including prominent anti-vaccine activists who used the app's hands-off approach to share false information on shots, a study from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue shows. 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. Markets continued to grapple with the economic and corporate earnings implications relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. âWe have a ton of uncertainty right now,â said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors. âWeâre dealing with a war, weâre dealing with inflation. We donât know what it means to earnings.â
from jp