Pavel Durov, founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested today in France, there are different charges against him.
While it would be interesting to discuss the investigation itself, putting the censorship arguments aside, (I personally use Telegram a lot to keep track of the news) I just would like to highlight how Telegram represented over the last years a national security concern for the French.
Russian mercenaries, obviously, use different platforms, but Telegram played for them an important role in accelerating the deterioration of France's military posture, especially in Africa.
I think it's important to take it into consideration when wondering why the French would get involved.
A few things to keep in mind:
- The biggest Wagner channels are on Telegram
- In general, the best way to assess if a disinformation campaign is taking place, is to check if multiple channels that are pro-Wagner or so have relayed it
- Many people use Telegram as their source of information
Wagner channels, in fact, launched campaigns not only against the French but also against UN missions.
But, of course, disinformation campaigns against the French were not only taking place in the digital world, they also took forms of organized protests.
One of the most notable ones was in Niger, where right after a successful Wagner-backed coup d'Γ©tat, thousands of protesters gathered outside a French military base in Niamey demanding that French troops leave, despite the fact that their missions revolved around counterterrorism against the rising Islamist insurgents in the Sahel. The French ended up leaving and putting an end to their military cooperation with Niger.
The case of Niger is especially important since it put also the EU in a tough spot given that it allocated around $554 million to Niger the last few years.
Telegram became for the French since then a factor among many that explains their inability to counter information warfare operations.
disinfo.africa
More from this author
On the situation in Mali: It's important to first of all define the terms. Tuaregs are a large semi-nomad Berber group that adopted Islam in the 7th...
Progressivism in foreign policy functions through three components: 1/ total rejection of human nature 2/ obsession over not making enemies and denyin...
I really donβt think that this is about risk-aversion, itβs about being completely numb. Remember, our generation has a fried brain with dopamine, es...
Friends kind of clash with me over this, but my position is pretty straightforward concerning the "Right": Conservatism is dead, the future is React...
Recent Threads
π¨Rollercoaster NIGHTMARE 8 students dangling 100ft on a stuck Galveston TX roller coaster! β¦ Vertical track failure left them hanging for hours. Fi...
Green flags in friendships that are highly underrated:
otts 617 https://t.co/XpYfeE08YM
This is a great example of the UC Bengali Bhadrolok mindset - they will claim to be Atheist/non Religious but their understanding of Bengali Culture/I...
The truth -thread on Luffyβs role in One Piece and how Gear 5 redefines it. #ONEPIECE #γ«γγ£ https://t.co/BeXB1ca5Rp
π¨ GoPlus Security Alert: DxSale Legacy Locker Exploit Drains $7.3M, Suspected Insider Involvement; Another $15.5M in Funds and LPs Still Require Emerg...
Popular Threads
Winning the Chevening Scholarship + 12 Strong Samples of the Chevening Essay There are four important Essays on the Chevening Scholarship application...
A thread: Pakistani newspaper Dawn's front pages from 4th december 1971 to 20 December to see how they kept their own people in the dark. This was on...
Please retweet and share if you support my and others' vaccine injury recoveries. https://t.co/y8xNWwRUOO
1. There are more people added on the list of arrests and executions of famous people but no further intel is available at this time. ARRESTS and EXE...
DON'T ARGUE WITH DONKEYS (Fable) The donkey said to the tiger: - "The grass is blue". The tiger replied: - "No, the grass is green." The discussion...
ICTβs 2022 Mentorship Summarized: https://t.co/zFJCgIfDAR
