Thomas BabychanTelegram to assist Brazil in curbing fake news.
Cloud-based instant messaging app Telegram has agreed with the Brazilian government to curb fake news.
In a meeting with the Brazilian president at Palacio do Planalto, Telegram V P, Ilya Perekopsky and the legal representative, Alan Thomaz, both decided on the coordination between the messaging app and the government.
During the meeting, both parties discussed the importance of freedom of expression. Telegram assured the president they will abide by all rules and regulations in compliance with the Brazilian constitution.
Earlier in March 2022, the Supreme Court of Brazil banned the Telegram app in the entire country for not taking any action on the requests by local authorities and law enforcement agencies.
According to Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brasília Supreme Court, Telegram failed to take any action against fake profiles and those accounts which peddle fake news and false information. Police had asked the messaging app to block profiles and share information regarding blogger Allan dos Santos.
Allan dos Santos, a close ally of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, is alleged of spreading fake news and information using fake accounts on telegram.
The court order came as a setback to Jair Bolsonaro, whose telegram following is more than 1 million. Bolsonaro uses his telegram channel for official and propaganda purposes.
Civil society and political groups in Brazil are requesting action from the government and judiciary against people and organisations who are responsible for disseminating false information and fake information. The Supreme Court regularly expressed concerns regarding the influence of fake information on the political and bureaucratic infrastructure of the nation.
Telegram is used by various governments such as the Indian Government and the Russian government to make sure proper information is disseminated to the general population. As there are numerous people from these countries on telegram, the Indian government created a telegram channel for sharing information regarding Coronavirus, services rendered by the government etc.
Official Telegram channel named “MyGov Corona News Desk” was formed by the Indian Government to dissipate rumours and misinformation regarding Coronavirus.
Russian Government departments such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Defence are using Telegram to share information regarding foreign policy and the latest updates from Russian Special Operation in Ukraine.
About Telegram –
Telegram is a cloud-based instant messaging app which was developed by Telegram FZ LLC in 2013. Telegram lets users share files with other individuals or channels up to a file size of 2 GB.