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Censorship, Suppression of Free Speech at Heart of Telegram Crackdown – Ex-CIA Analyst
Censorship, Suppression of Free Speech at Heart of Telegram Crackdown – Ex-CIA Analyst
Sputnik International
Opposition to the Telegram encrypted messaging platform is driven by the West’s desire to surveil online activity and suppress criticism of its foreign policy, according to ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson.
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Opposition to the Telegram encrypted messaging platform is driven by the West’s desire to surveil online activity and suppress criticism of its foreign policy, according to ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson.The analyst made the claim during an interview with Sputnik after news broke that Telegram founder Pavel Durov had been arrested by French authorities after his private jet landed at an airport outside Paris.“They're going to charge him with terrorism because he has refused to censor certain groups, people that support Hamas are allowed to communicate freely on Telegram. Telegram is one of the few channels that actually allows information that's critical of Western policy to go on. I think that's really at the root of this.”Durov reportedly faces a number of charges relating to Telegram’s lack of moderation, which authorities claim implicates him in the sharing of content related to terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering.The platform has become known as a home for political dissidents in the West, who are able to publish content that is discouraged or disallowed on other online platforms.“There was a time when [Durov] was considered friendly with [French President Emmanuel] Macron,” Johnson recalled. “But that's clearly come and gone because this kind of arrest would not have happened without Macron's knowledge and approval.”“I think the Westerners – the French in particular – have made a mistake in grabbing him because they think that this is going to somehow create leverage or create an issue with Russia.”Previously Durov claimed during an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson that the FBI had attempted to encourage one of Telegram’s engineers to create a backdoor in the application for the use of Western intelligence agencies.Johnson claimed that criticism of the US-backed proxy war in Ukraine and Israel’s military operation in Gaza on Telegram particularly chafed Western authorities. The social media app TikTok was similarly attacked by US legislators earlier this year when legislation was passed to ban the app after this fall’s presidential election.The pro-Israel lobby has been implicated in the passage of the bill, with Anti-Defamation League executive Jonathan Greenblatt lamenting the popularity of pro-Palestine content on the platform. Zionist settlers have sought to colonize Palestine and displace its indigenous population since the founding of Israel in 1948.“Even if you're a Russian billionaire you’ve got a big, fat target on your back,” he warned.Johnson claimed US contributors to Russian media outlets such as Sputnik and RT could continue to face intimidation after FBI raids on the homes of Scott Ritter and Dimitri Simes this month.“If it can happen to someone like Dimitri it can happen to anybody.”
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“It can happen to anybody” – former CIA analyst Larry Johnson
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“It can happen to anybody” – former CIA analyst Larry Johnson
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Censorship, Suppression of Free Speech at Heart of Telegram Crackdown – Ex-CIA Analyst
05:23 GMT 25.08.2024 (Updated: 05:24 GMT 25.08.2024) The West is looking to shut down criticism of its foreign policy in Ukraine and Gaza, according to one former CIA analyst.
Opposition to the Telegram encrypted messaging platform is driven by the West’s desire to surveil online activity and suppress criticism of its foreign policy, according to ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson.
The analyst made the claim during an interview with Sputnik after news broke that Telegram founder Pavel Durov had been arrested by French authorities after his private jet landed at an airport outside Paris.
“I think the charges are all implausible, false,” said the co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity. “They're charging him reportedly with terrorism. And with fraud. So this clearly smacks of a trumped up political case.”
“They're going to charge him with terrorism because he has refused to censor certain groups, people that support Hamas are allowed to communicate freely on Telegram. Telegram is one of the few channels that actually allows information that's critical of Western policy to go on. I think that's really at the root of this.”
Durov reportedly faces a number of charges relating to Telegram’s lack of moderation, which authorities claim implicates him in the sharing of content related to terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering.
The platform has become known as a home for political dissidents in the West, who are able to publish content that is discouraged or disallowed on other online platforms.
“There was a time when [Durov] was considered friendly with [French President Emmanuel] Macron,” Johnson recalled. “But that's clearly come and gone because this kind of arrest would not have happened without Macron's knowledge and approval.”
“It's possible that he's being turned into a bargaining chip. But the question is, who's going to bargain for him? He walked away from Russia,” he noted, recalling that the tech entrepreneur left the country in 2014. “The fact of the matter is he left Russia and accepted French citizenship, and has chosen to reside in the [United] Arab Emirates. So he's not high on the priority list of Russian intelligence to get him back by any stretch. He's of no use to Russia in that regard.”
“I think the Westerners – the French in particular – have made a mistake in grabbing him because they think that this is going to somehow create leverage or create an issue with Russia.”
Previously Durov claimed during an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson that the FBI had attempted to encourage one of Telegram’s engineers to create a backdoor in the application for the use of Western intelligence agencies.
Johnson claimed that criticism of the US-backed proxy war in Ukraine and Israel’s military operation in Gaza on Telegram particularly chafed Western authorities. The social media app TikTok was similarly attacked by US legislators earlier this year when legislation was passed to ban the app after this fall’s presidential election.
The pro-Israel lobby has been implicated in the passage of the bill, with Anti-Defamation League executive Jonathan Greenblatt lamenting the popularity of pro-Palestine content on the platform. Zionist settlers have sought to colonize Palestine and displace its indigenous population since the founding of Israel in 1948.
“I think the major issue with respect to the West is the coverage that [Telegram] provides about what's going on in Ukraine and the coverage he allows with respect to the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in the Middle East and in Gaza and the West Bank,” Johnson claimed. “I think particularly the last issue has rankled the Israelis quite a bit. And they've been looking to shut him down. The French reportedly have been looking to shut Telegram down. So we'll see.”
“Even if you're a Russian billionaire you’ve got a big, fat target on your back,” he warned.
Johnson claimed US contributors to Russian media outlets such as Sputnik and RT could continue to face intimidation after FBI raids on the homes of Scott Ritter and Dimitri Simes this month.
“They've already gone after Dimitri Simes,” Johnson noted. “Dimitri is an American who became a naturalized American [citizen] in the 1970s because he was a dissident against the Soviet Union, against the Communist Party. And now the very country that he fled to for freedom and protection has turned on him and has unleashed our version of the secret police on him.”
“If it can happen to someone like Dimitri it can happen to anybody.”
