Anti-Defamation League Demands Big Tech Censorship of Telegram
Shane Trejo
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The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is demanding the censorship of free speech app Telegram by Big Tech entities.
The ADL is blaming Telegram for footage of a recent mass shooting in Buffalo allegedly being circulated by users on the platform.
“Raw footage of the white supremacist shooting in [Buffalo] and extremist memes based on it are spreading wildly on the messaging app [Telegram], including public channels with tens of thousands of members,” the ADL wrote in a tweet.
“[Telegram] has repeatedly rejected calls to de-platform egregious hate and has failed to enforce minimal policies, including breaking one of its three rules requiring users to not ‘promote violence on publicly viewable Telegram channels,’” he continued.
“We call on [Telegram] to immediately remove content related to the [Buffalo] shooting & implement hate & extremism policies to prevent the spread of the virulent ideologies rooted in violence. [Google] & [Apple] should remove Telegram from app stores until the platform takes action,” the ADL added.
The tweets can be seen here:
Raw footage of the white supremacist shooting in #Buffalo and extremist memes based on it are spreading wildly on the messaging app @telegram, including public channels with tens of thousands of members.
— ADL (@ADL) May 16, 2022
We call on @telegram to immediately remove content related to the #Buffalo shooting & implement hate & extremism policies to prevent the spread of the virulent ideologies rooted in violence. @Google & @Apple should remove Telegram from app stores until the platform takes action.
— ADL (@ADL) May 16, 2022
Since the ADL issued their directive for censorship, right-wing commentators with large followings on Telegram have reported being restricted by the platform.
Big League Politics has reported on the attacks against Telegram increasing in recent months as the open platform gains momentum:
“CNN is lobbying Telegram, the encrypted messaging platform that has grown in relevance for providing a haven to dissidents banned by monopoly tech platforms, to conduct Draconian censorship on its own platform.
The fake news leader has put Telegram in their sights for refusing to censor content from so-called white supremacists.
“White supremacist groups have become much more active on the social media network Telegram as protests over racism and police brutality sweep the US. That’s according to a new report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based think tank,” CNN wrote.
The Institute for Strategic Dialogue partners with Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft, the Soros-backed Open Society Foundations, and many different government bureaucracies to lobby for Draconian censorship on social media platforms.
CNN continued: “More than 200 channels, many with thousands of members, include frequent and explicit threats of violence against minority communities and Black Lives Matter protesters, researchers said. White supremacists have made their way over to Telegram because it’s less active in moderating content than other social media networks, the report said.”
Telegram is refusing to buckle thus far under the media pressure. They told CNN that their app is “a neutral platform used both by Black Lives Matter and their opponents” and said calls for violence are not encouraged on the platform.”
If Telegram succumbs to the pressure and increases censorship and becomes more like Big Tech, another competitor, such as Gab, will fill their market share. The free market provides, and the people are demanding digital freedom. Thought-control groups like the ADL are fighting a losing battle.
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