In a bold move, the popular social media platform, Telegram, has declared its refusal to ban or block any content pertaining to the Israel-Hamas conflict, despite mounting pressure from the European Union. This announcement was made by Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, in a broadcast message on the platform.
Telegram’s approach differs significantly from other social media platforms. Unlike platforms that push content to their users, Telegram allows users to subscribe to specific content they wish to see, giving them more control over their feeds.
The European Union had issued a warning to all social media platforms, urging them not to permit the spread of disinformation and ‘illegal content’ related to the ongoing conflict. In response, Meta (formerly Facebook) announced its decision to block all content associated with Hamas across its platforms.
Meanwhile, X, previously known as Twitter, has explained its measures to the EU regarding the removal of hundreds of millions of posts linked to the conflict.
Pavel Durov, Telegram’s CEO, defended the platform’s stance, emphasizing the complexity of war-related coverage. He pointed out that shutting down certain channels could potentially impact lives, and complex situations require careful consideration.
Durov highlighted Telegram’s unique content delivery model, where users only receive content they specifically subscribe to, making it less likely to amplify propaganda. Instead, it serves as a primary source of first-hand information for researchers, journalists, and fact-checkers.
Meta, on the other hand, took immediate action by removing or marking as disturbing over 795,000 pieces of content in Hebrew or Arabic within the first three days of the conflict. They also expanded their violence and incitement policy, removing content that identifies hostages taken by Hamas.
In a separate response, X CEO, Linda Yaccarino, detailed how the platform has been actively removing or labeling content related to the conflict and cooperating with law enforcement requests, including those from EU member states. The platform has been diligently enforcing rules to combat disinformation.
