A full-scale media battle has been taking place alongside Russia’s military attack on Ukraine for weeks. In addition to influencing Russian official media, the Kremlin is also attempting to exert influence on internet narratives.
A barrage of “imposter material” has gone viral, including false news stories and deep fake movies, while Ukrainians and the rest of the world have been scrambling to relay the genuine tale of the invading forces.
Telegram, an instant messaging service, has emerged as one of the most crucial ways to communicate. In the middle of all the confusion, why are so many people using Telegram?
What is Telegram, and how does it differ from other messaging services?
Since before the invasion, Telegram has been one of the most popular social media programs in Ukraine and Russia. Send and receive text messages, voicemails, movies and other types of media through the cloud-based service for no cost to subscribers.
Vladimir Putin’s increasingly authoritarian Russia has been at odds with Pavel Durov, the Russian-born IT entrepreneur who founded the platform in 2013.
It’s good to see Telegram clearing up the misinformation that’s been swirling about lately (mainly coming from Russia). Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has used it as a go-to resource.
In terms of wartime communications, Telegram provides a number of major advantages.
As many as 200,000 people may join public and private groups, where they can send and receive messages, as well as channels (which allow one-way broadcasting to channel subscribers).
Companies may send encrypted messages and audio/video live streams to thousands of individuals using Telegram’s groups and channels, all of which are saved in Telegram’s “cloud.”
There is no end-to-end encryption by default for Telegram’s public and private messages; instead, encryption occurs on a client-server basis.
It’s all saved in the cloud and dispersed across numerous data centers across the globe. As a result, these centers are subject to the laws of each nation in which they are based. Despite the difficulty, this data can be decoded.
The “secret chat” function in Telegram adds an additional level of protection. Enabling this feature ensures that all communication between two users is encrypted from beginning to finish.
Except for the devices used to transmit and receive the data, this information is not kept anywhere else. Not even Telegram is able to get in on it. Secret conversations may also be programmed to “self-destruct” after a certain amount of time. When the timeout expires, all communication is lost.
Telegram makes the claim that it is even more secure than comparable applications like WhatsApp and Line. Telegram claims
In addition to the anonymous forwarding option, WhatsApp lacks this capability. Messages transmitted by a user are no longer traceable if this feature is activated. Unlinked plain text includes their display name in the message; this may be modified or removed at will.
Even while Telegram requires that users register with a phone number, the phone number doesn’t have to be associated with the account in order for the user to use it (whereas a phone number will always remain linked to a WhatsApp account).
Where Telegram and Politics Collide
As a protest tool, Telegram has a long history of being used during times of upheaval and tyranny.
To oppose the Russian-backed authoritarian leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, a huge rally of roughly 100,000 people was planned for the year 2020.
Similar activities may have occurred during the conflict in Ukraine. On Telegram, President Zelenskyy urged Ukrainians to defend themselves against the invasion.
Following the Kremlin’s crackdown on free media, many Russians have also resorted to the app for independent information 1.3 million followers have joined Russian journalist Ilya Varlamov’s Telegram channel since the invasion started, thanks in large part to his livestreaming of the invasion.
Russian Telegram users have increased by 48 percent, according to Time, since Russia’s invasion started on February 24. Probably the majority of these folks are seeking for independent news. Journalists from such publications as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post have also joined the effort from the West.
Telegram is particularly useful for Ukraine’s military, since it may aid evade Russian monitoring and carry out intelligence operations. Ukraine’s communications infrastructure has been infiltrated by Russian forces during the invasion.
It’s a two-edged sword!
In the wrong hands, Telegram’s privacy features may be a concern, as they are with any sophisticated technology.
RT and Sputnik have Telegram channels, and the Russian government encourages its citizens to utilize it to get pro-Kremlin information.
Disinformation is being distributed by Russian bot accounts acting as “war journalists” in favor of the Kremlin’s narrative.
It’s no secret that Telegram has a bad reputation. Encryption of the software has allowed criminal behavior to flourish (including by extremist groups such as the Islamic State).
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