KYIV -- Whenever Russia launches drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities, mobile phones vibrate and the unpleasant sound of an air-raid siren goe

As Telegram's Popularity Soars, Is It 'A Spy In Every Ukrainian's Pocket'?

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2024-05-02 05:00:03

KYIV -- Whenever Russia launches drones and missiles against Ukrainian cities, mobile phones vibrate and the unpleasant sound of an air-raid siren goes off.

During such air alerts, many Ukrainians turn to Telegram channels that aggregate official and unofficial information about attacks to decide whether to seek shelter. "I never take cover anyway, but I am calmer once I know what's going on," psychology student Ilya Yeremenko told RFE/RL. "A feeling of control, even if illusory, is better than a sense of helplessness." Quick access to unrestricted information has pushed the Telegram messaging app to become a leading news source in wartime Ukraine. The Dubai-based platform, boasting over 900 million users worldwide, was founded by Russian entrepreneur Pavel Durov in 2013. In his first major interview in seven years, which he gave to U.S. commentator Tucker Carlson on April 17, Durov vowed Telegram aims to be a "neutral platform" and not a "player in geopolitics." In Ukraine, though, critics worry it spreads misinformation and facilitates illegal actions. Some accuse Telegram of ties to the Russian state and of contributing to its war effort. Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has registered a bill that aims to regulate the workings of the platform. But it seems unlikely lawmakers will try to shut the popular application down altogether. Invasion Spike Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 gave a huge boost to Telegram's popularity in Ukraine. When Russian rockets rained down on Ukrainian cities and Russian troops streamed across the country's borders, Ihor Lachenkov, creator and author of one of Ukraine's most popular Telegram channels, Lachen Pyshe, was in his native Dnipro monitoring events and posting news around the clock. Within the first 24 hours, his audience nearly tripled from 70,000 to about 200,000. "People flocked to my channel because it was one of the first to say that the war had started, and it pushed out timely notifications about rocket attacks even before the air-raid alarms started to work properly," Lachenkov told RFE/RL. Back then, Ukraine's main television channels began broadcasting a unified, state-controlled news program known as the United Telemarathon to combat the spread of enemy propaganda and disinformation.

But those seeking quicker, more specific, or unofficial information turned to Telegram channels. Primarily a messaging app, Telegram owes its success as a news source to its straightforward design. Users can easily set up channels and post content to an unlimited number of followers in a top-down manner with no algorithms interfering and almost no advertising. "There is no other platform that can beat Telegram in terms of audience outreach," Lachenkov said, adding that Facebook and Instagram are not only less convenient, but also filter out some popular war-related content as too graphic or purportedly promoting hate speech or violence.