Social media platform, Telegram, has said it will not ban or block any content relating to the Israel-Hamas conflict despite the pressure on all platforms from the European Union.
The CEO of Telegram, Pavel Durov, stated this in a broadcast message on the platform.
According to him, Telegram is not like other platforms where all types of content are pushed to the users, but rather, users subscribe to what they want to see.
Telegram’s stance is against the European Union’s warning to all social media platforms not to allow disinformation and ‘illegal content’ about the war. In compliance, Meta on Friday announced that it would block all Hama-related content across its platforms.
X, formerly Twitter, has also explained to the EU steps it had taken leading to the removal of hundreds of millions of posts from its platform.
Telegram is different
Defending the platform’s stance not to block or remove any content, the Telegram CEO said:
- “Every day, Telegram’s moderators and AI tools remove millions of obviously harmful content from our public platform. However, tackling war-related coverage is seldom obvious.
- “Earlier this week, Hamas used Telegram to warn civilians in Ashkelon to leave the area ahead of their missile strikes. Would shutting down their channel help save lives — or would it endanger more lives? It’s always tempting to act on emotional impulses. But such complex situations require thorough consideration that should also take into account the differences between social platforms.
- “Unlike other apps that algorithmically promote shocking content to unsuspecting people, on Telegram, users receive only the content to which they specifically subscribed. As such, it’s unlikely that Telegram channels can be used to significantly amplify propaganda. Instead, they serve as a unique source of first-hand information for researchers, journalists, and fact-checkers.
- “While it would be easy for us to destroy this source of information, doing so risks exacerbating an already dire situation.”
What other platforms are doing
On Friday, Meta said it would be blocking all pro-Hamas posts across its platforms.
Announcing its response to the Israel-Hamas conflict and the information being shared on social media, Meta said it has removed or marked as disturbing more than 795,000 pieces of content in Hebrew or Arabic within the first three days of the attack.
The Mark Zuckerberg company said it is also temporarily expanding its violence and incitement policy and removing content that identifies hostages taken by Hamas, even if it is being done to condemn or raise awareness of their situation.
Earlier, X CEO, Linda Yaccarino in a letter letter to the EU posted on her X page, said since the terrorist attack on Israel, the platform had taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content, while Community Notes are visible on thousands of posts, generating millions of impressions.
She said X has also been ‘responding promptly to law enforcement requests from around the world, including EU member states.
Yaccarino also explained to the EU how the platform has been enforcing its rules to fight disinformation.
