Far-right agitators have long enjoyed an unparalleled level of impunity on Telegram.

Far-right agitators have long enjoyed an unparalleled level of impunity on Telegram.

As riots swept the U.K. in recent days, far-right groups plotted attacks on immigration centers and swapped manuals for making petrol bombs on the fringe social network Telegram.

Social media platforms have faced intense criticism for hosting extremist rhetoric that has inflamed violent disorder since****the killing of three children in Southport in a stabbing attack late July.

But while Elon Musk’s provocations on X (formerly Twitter) have grabbed the limelight, right-wing agitators have long enjoyed an unparalleled level of impunity on Telegram.

  • worldwidewave@lemmy.worldEnglish
    610·
    3 months ago

    “ISIS is obviously still around on telegram, but it’s not as big,” he said.

    But the platform seemed more relaxed when it came to letting far right communities thrive — until it began removing some channels this week. “Frankly speaking, if a brown person says something horrible, Telegram will be all over it, if a white person says it, I’m not sure they would be,” a former senior police officer involved in counter-terrorism enforcement, granted anonymity to speak candidly, told POLITICO.

    “Telegram’s moderators are actively monitoring the situation and are removing channels and posts containing calls to violence,” Telegram said.

    Lax content controls mean that far right organizers can conduct their activities undisturbed. Telegram has “less than a dozen” moderators, said Feldman, compared to theestimated 15,000 who work at Meta. Telegram’s few moderators spend their time removing “the worst things that humanity can come up with,” like child sexual abuse material, he added.

    Just shut the whole site down. What good is coming out of this cesspool?