E-Paper
UK riots: How Telegram messaging app was used by extremists to stir trouble?
UK riots: Telegram channels were used by extremists to stir hatred against Muslims, distribute locations and targets for actions.
Telegram app, which was started in 2013, is one of the most downloaded apps in the world. The app's private chat setting has made it a free space for open discussion in many countries. But the app has also become a source of misinformation due to its content moderation policies. Earlier this month, the app was used to foment anti-immigrant riots in the UK. The country's PM Keir Starmer also said that his government will crack down on social media platforms that helped in causing the unrest.
What is Telegram app?
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The text based chat service is just like WhatsApp with additional features similar to what you find on X or Facebook. Telegram is used by hundreds of millions of people across the world to post stories, create discussion groups or establish channels which can have subscriber.
How private is Telegram app?
The extent to which Telegram is encrypted is not known. While WhatsApp and Signal use end-to-end encryption by default, Telegram does not. Instead, it offers end-to-end encryption only to users who start a “secret chat” such messages that unreadable by Telegram and any would-be snoops.
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What was Telegram’s role in the UK riots?
Following the murder of three young girls in northern England on July 29, Telegram channels were used by extremists to stir hatred against Muslims, distribute locations and targets for actions, as per a study by London-based anti-extremism think tank the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.
The study reviewed 16 prominent Telegram channels and groups “actively posting, hosting, and forwarding anti-Muslim and anti-migrant content related to the riots.” Six channels created in direct response to the rioting were removed from the platform on August 5 and August 6, the study found.
A Telegram spokesperson said its moderators were “actively monitoring the situation and are removing channels and posts containing calls to violence.”
