For weeks, Russias military assault on Ukraine has been complemented by full-fledgedinformation warfare.
The Kremlin has propagandised Russian state media, and is trying to control the narrativeonline too.
But what is it about Telegram that has millions flocking to it amid the chaos?
What is Telegram?
Telegram is one of the most popular social apps inUkraineandRussia, and has been since before the invasion began.
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Now Telegram is providing some clarity in a foggy environment of (mostly Russian) disinformation.
It has even been a go-to point of contact for Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy.
How does it work?
Telegram has several key features that make it an appealing option for communications relating to the war.
These centres are controlled by legal entities in various jurisdictions, and subject to the laws of those jurisdictions.
This datacouldbe decrypted, although doing so would be difficult.
But Telegram does offer another layer of security through its secret chat feature.
When this is enabled, the communication between two users becomes end-to-end encrypted.
This data isnt stored anywhere apart from the senders and receivers equipment.
Not even Telegram can access it.
Users can also set a self-destruct timer on secret chats.
Once the timer ends, the communication disappears forever.
Telegram claims to be evenmore securethan similar apps such as WhatsApp and Line.
When this is enabled, any message forwarded by a user is no longer traceable back to them.
Its likely similar actions have taken place in the context of the war on Ukraine.
President Zelenskyy has openly used Telegram tourge mento take up arms and resist the invasion.
Presumably the bulk of these people are looking for independent news.
Russias penetration of Ukraines telecommunication networkshas been pervasiveduring the invasion.
Historically, Telegram has been profiled for all thewrong reasons.
End-to-end encryption has enabled illegal activity on the app (including byextremist groupssuch as the Islamic State).
Telegram remains available on both the Apple and Google app stores.
In many cases, Telegram wont be aware of illegal activity until it is notified.
And with end-to-end encryption, its difficult to know just how much harmful content is making the rounds.
Telegram can only intervene in a limited number of cases, and with narrow capacity.
Still, it seems mounting threats andlegal concernshave started to chip away at Durovs resolve.
The ban was lifted two days later, after Durovtook actionsto comply with the courts requirements.
He deleted posts by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, removed one supporter account and promised the monitoring of others.
Itsreportedmore than 60 channels were removed in response.
It seems Telegram finds itself between a rock and a hard place.
Its limited, by design, in how much it can filter content.
