After Telegram founder arrest, Russians fear loss of ‘main information source’

Moscow now fears for the fate of the messenger and its Russian-born founder Durov, charged late August with failing to curb extremist and illegal content on the platform. — Bloomberg

MOSCOW: France's arrest of Telegram chief Pavel Durov has raised fears in Russia that the popular messaging app – used both by the Kremlin and its opponents – could be blocked, depriving them of one of the last sources of critical, uncensored news.

Since the start of its offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has cracked down on dissent and protest, leaving Russians without independent news outlets or access to Western social media such as Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.