New York Times Calls Telegram 'A Playground for Criminals, Extremists and Terrorists'

The New York Times analyzed over 3.2 million Telegram messages from 16,220 channels. Their conclusion? Telegram 'offers features that enable criminals, terrorists and grifters to organize at scale and to sidestep scrutiny from the authorities' — and that Telegram 'has looked the other way as illegal and extremist activities have flourished openly on the app.'

Or, more succinctly: 'Telegram has become a global sewer of criminal activity, disinformation, child sexual abuse material, terrorism and racist incitement, according to a four-month investigation.'

Look deeper, and a dark underbelly emerges. Uncut lumps of cocaine and shards of crystal meth are for sale on the app. Handguns and stolen checks are widely available. White nationalists use the platform to coordinate fight clubs and plan rallies. Hamas broadcast its Oct. 7 attack on Israel on the site... The Times investigation found 1,500 channels operated by white supremacists who coordinate activities among almost 1 million people around the world. At least two dozen channels sold weapons. In at least 22 channels with more than 70,000 followers, MDMA, cocaine, heroin and other drugs were advertised for delivery to more than 20 countries.

Hamas, the Islamic State and other militant groups have thrived on Telegram, often amassing large audiences across dozens of channels. The Times analyzed more than 40 channels associated with Hamas, which showed that average viewership surged up to 10 times after the Oct. 7 attacks, garnering more than 400 million views in October. Telegram is 'the most popular place for ill-intentioned, violent actors to congregate,' said Rebecca Weiner, the deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism at the New York Police Department. 'If you're a bad guy, that's where you will land....' [Telegram] steadfastly ignores most requests for assistance from law enforcement agencies. An email inbox used for inquiries from government agencies is rarely checked, former employees said...

'It is easy to search and find channels selling guns, illicit narcotics, prescription drugs and fraudulent ATM cards, called clone cards...' according to the article. The Times 'found at least 50 channels openly selling contraband, including guns, drugs and fraudulent debit cards.'
In December 2022, Hayden Espinosa began serving a 33-month sentence in federal prison in Louisiana for buying and selling illegal firearms and weapon parts he made with 3D printers. That did not stop his business. Using cellphones that had been smuggled into prison, Espinosa continued his illicit trade on a Telegram channel... Espinosa's gun market on Telegram might never have been uncovered except that one of its members was Payton Gendron, who massacred 10 people at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, in 2022. Investigators scouring his life online for motives for the shooting discovered the channel, which also featured racist and extremist views he had shared.

'Operating like a stateless organization, Telegram has long behaved as if it were above the law,' the article concludes — though it adds that 'In many democratic countries, patience with the app is wearing thin.

'The European Union is exploring new oversight of Telegram under the Digital Services Act, a law that forces large online platforms to police their services more aggressively, two people familiar with the plans said.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.