DISINFO: The EU is hostile to Telegram because it provides alternative information
SUMMARY
The collective West couldn’t watch calmly as the informational and financial resources slipped into a competing field when Durov took certain steps toward cooperation with Russian and Turkish special services. This is a fairly typical scheme of persecuting dissidents in the West, whereby they are 'pressured' not for dissent itself, but for allegedly committing criminal offences. European governments are hostile to Telegram because it breaks through the information barrier within the EU and allows for the formation of alternative viewpoints on various current affairs.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about censorship and control of the media in the West. Accusations of censorship and attacks against freedom of expression are a recurring pro-Kremlin technique to defend the illicit actions of Russia’s state-sponsored disinformation outlets.
The arrest, and subsequent charging, of Pavel Durov is part of a procedure accusing Telegram of complicity in numerous cases linked to drug trafficking, glorification of terrorism, and cyberbullying due to a lack of moderation and minimal cooperation with law enforcement authorities in France. French authorities have imposed charges against Pavel Durov for 12 different crimes, including complicity in the distribution of child pornography and the selling of drugs, money laundering, and a refusal to cooperate with law enforcement.
This legal procedure is not connected in any way to alleged Russophobia, developments on the Ukrainian battlefield, or the myth of economic superiority of Russia despite sanctions. However, Russian state-controlled outlets and Telegram channels in Russian were panicked about this arrest given the role of the platform for strategic communications and its role in the Russian disinformation landscape.
The Russian publication Proekt investigated the narrow links between the Kremlin’s coordinated disinformation efforts and Telegram channels that are officially “independent” and for “freedom of speech”.
Read also related cases such as the real reason for Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s arrest is to cover up events in Palestine, There is no freedom of speech in Europe; only Russian outlets tell the truth; The EU has become a Russophobic coalition led by the US; RT and Sputnik are more popular than Western Media; Facebook violates freedom of speech by blocking Sputnik Arabic; Removal of RT channels on YouTube is an obvious manifestation of censorship.