Telegram: the app at the heart of Ukraine’s propaganda battle
by Mark Sweney from Technology | The Guardian on (#5WSNP)
It's the most popular messaging service in Ukraine, and used by protesters of all kinds. Now it must find a way to make money
In the days after Vladimir Putin's invasion of his country, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, used his Telegram channel to send a defiant video message from the centre of the capital, Kyiv, calling on the nation to unite and resist the Russian attack.
The WhatsApp-like messaging service, co-founded by exiled Russian billionaire brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov, has become a key weapon in a digital propaganda battle that will ultimately boost its usage and investor profile ahead of a possible $50bn stock market flotation next year.
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