Telegram (software)

[[File:Telegram 2019 Logo.svg|thumb|right|165px|You can't have a plane without a [[Political_spectrum#Rightism|right wing]].]]{{internet}}
'''Telegram''' is an instant messaging, social media and Voice-Over-IP service provider based in [[Dubai]].<ref>[https://telegram.org/faq#q-where-is-telegram-based Telegram FAQ -> Where is Telegram based?]</ref>  Like almost any tool it can be used to promote the forces of both light or darkness.

==Refuge for cranks, black markets and scammers==
{{main|Crank}}
Telegram offers users the possibility to create channels, a place where a user can post content and an unlimited number of people can subscribe to (not unlike something like a user's [[Twitter]]/[[Social media platforms#Fediverse|Fediverse]] feed). Traditionally, Telegram had a hands-off approach to moderating these channels, which those posting [[anti-vaccine|anti-vaccine content]], [[conspiracy theories]], and more general groups like the [[alt-right]] very much liked.<ref>[https://medium.com/dfrlab/understanding-telegrams-ecosystem-of-far-right-channels-in-the-us-22e963c09234 Understanding Telegram’s ecosystem of far-right channels in the US]. @DFRLab, ''Medium'', 23 March 2022.</ref> Those who found themselves kicked from more mainstream platforms found in Telegram's channels feature a new home, like [[Nick Fuentes]]. Many black market sellers are active on Telegram in private channels where one can purchase drugs, illicit firearms and stolen credit card information with [[cryptocurrency]] or cash.<ref>[https://www.ft.com/content/c70ef7d6-230a-4404-b854-2e75fe0f2e0a Telegram: social media giant or the new ‘dark web’?]. ''Financial Times'' 12 March 2024.</ref> It's also beloved by scammers for its "private-by-default" nature. {{fact}}  

===…Or not?===
Especially following the [[2021 U.S. Capitol riot|January 6 Capitol attack in the US]], the company has started to take a more active role in moderating explicitly [[far-right]] and pro-violence channels.<ref>Kevin Collier, Anna Schecter and Ezra Kaplan, [https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/telegram-recent-haven-far-right-purges-extremist-content-n1254215 Telegram, a recent haven for the far right, purges extremist content]. ''NBC News'', 13 January 2021.</ref> Many channels related to the Capitol attack were deleted, such as one mentioned in the article as posting "Army manuals with bomb-making and munitions-making information" at the beginning of the attack. The aforementioned article draws parallels between these bans and the ones that occurred following the 2015 Paris massacre, in which Telegram deleted openly pro-[[DAESH|ISIS]] channels. Of course, by the time these bans happened, it was already too late. The channel deletion seems to be limited, however. Telegram seems to prefer to mark channels about, for example, [[QAnon]] with a "Fake" tag in the channel title, despite QAnon being explicitly pro-violence.

The service is also an extremely popular platform within the [[furry fandom]] due its "custom stickers" feature, so you can naturally expect at least one furry near your location to have enabled the "Shared location" feature. 

==E2E encryption==
Telegram provides optional end-to-end [[Cryptography|encrypted]] messaging, a feature that the company calls "Secret Chat". When properly set up, this makes the content of the messages between two contacts known only to the participants. As with any commercial security solution, this technology may not provide guaranteed security.<ref>Reegun Jayapaul, [https://www.trustwave.com/en-us/resources/blogs/spiderlabs-blog/telegram-self-destruct-not-always/ Telegram Self-Destruct? Not Always]. SpiderLabs Blog, trustwave.com, 5 August 2021.</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Crank magnetism]]
[[Category:Social media]]
[[Category:Alt-tech]]

Categories: Internet, Crank magnetism, Social media, Alt-tech