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. Artem Kliuchnikov and his family fled Ukraine just days before the Russian invasion. Such instructions could actually endanger people — citizens receive air strike warnings via smartphone alerts. "This time we received the coordinates of enemy vehicles marked 'V' in Kyiv region," it added. The Security Service of Ukraine said in a tweet that it was able to effectively target Russian convoys near Kyiv because of messages sent to an official Telegram bot account called "STOP Russian War."
from kr