The Weaponization of Telegram in the Israel-Hamas War

Popular social media and messaging app Telegram has been weaponized by Hamas to actively spread gruesome images and videos.

As the Israel-Hamas war that began with the October 7 Hamas attack is about to enter its fourth week, the information war on social media continues to rage on, too.

Telegram has long been an alternative news source to many Israelis due to the government's constant pressure on the country's press. Now, however, it has turned into a weapon for Hamas militants to conduct psychological warfare by sharing videos of the IDF being humbled by the militants.

The Rise of Telegram Following the Hamas Attack

Telegram already had a sizeable user base in Israel, with many Israelis using it for a variety of purposes, including the procurement of cannabis.

The lack of moderation and government influence on Telegram also makes it a popular choice for those seeking alternatives to mainstream news sources.

Following the October 7 Hamas attack against the Jewish nation, there has been a significant uptick in activity on Telegram.

Hundreds of thousands are signing up for Telegram from Israel and the Palestinian Territories.Pavel Durov, Telegram's Russian Founder

Highlighting the importance for everyone to have reliable access to news and information," he went on to add that the app will support Hebrew and Arabic in the near future.

Lack of Official News on TV

Israeli residents were largely left in the dark immediately after the Hamas attack, with even the official government channels going silent.

Omer Benjakob, cyber and disinformation reporter at Israeli newspaper Haaretz, revealed that following the Hamas assault on October 7, there was no news on the television or the state media channels besides unverified casualty reports.

When reached out by Haaretz, the IDF only responded that the situation was under review." On social media, however, the scenario was very different.

Video clips showing dead IDF soldiers, Hamas paragliders, and Israeli military vehicles commandeered by Hamas militants began to surface on Telegram, alongside other platforms.

While platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and X have strong moderation policies that result in most such videos being taken down, Telegram is rather lax in this regard.

Long-time Israeli resident Maria Rashed, who currently lives in London but had flown back to her home in Nazareth at the time of the attack, shared how she resorted to Telegram in search of news of the attack.

Upon failing to find any official information on mainstream platforms, Rashed joined a Telegram channel belonging to Hamas's press team. This is where she came across unfiltered videos of the brutal assault.

However, considering that there was no way to verify the authenticity of these videos, many of them could potentially be fake content created to spread panic among Israelis while raising the Palestinians' morale.

Telegram Bans Several Hamas ChannelsHamas telegram channels grew rapidly in the first five days of the conflict, with Qassam Brigades, a channel of Hamas's military wing, tripling in size.

The number of views per post grew tenfold too, indicating a skyrocketing rise in the size of its active audience.

Apple and Google, both of which host Telegram on their respective app stores, have been asking Telegram to ban the main channels used by Hamas to spread extreme content.

While Telegram initially declined, the mounting pressure ultimately led to several Hamas channels being removed.

The post The Weaponization of Telegram in the Israel-Hamas War appeared first on The Tech Report.