Kremlin urges Telegram to pay attention to use of social network by terrorists

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov has said the creator of the messenger, Pavel Durov, needs to pay attention to the use of the social network by terrorists.

He noted that the Russian authorities do not plan to block the Telegram messenger, saying in an interview with Life that “there are no such plans at the moment,” Kommersant reported on March 28.

One of those detained for the attack on Crocus City Hall, Shamsidin Fariduni, said during interrogation that through Telegram he received an order from the “preacher’s assistant” to shoot people in exchange for 500 thousand rubles (about 5425 dollars).

Later, a RIA Novosti source reported that the four perpetrators of the terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall could have been recruited through the Telegram channel of the Afghan wing of the Islamic State (a terrorist group banned in Russia) - “Voice of Khorasan”. Now, according to the agency, this Telegram channel has been deleted.

Telegram’s daily reach among audiences over 12 years of age increased by almost 20% in 2023, according to Mediascope. The messenger took fourth place in the ranking of the most popular Internet resources. WhatsApp ranks first place, Yandex is in second, Google is in third, VKontakte is in fifth, and YouTube is in sixth place.