TikTok more dangerous to Ukraine than Telegram, say local disinformation experts
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“We’ve already figured Telegram out — we understand its structure and how it operates,” a Ukrainian official said. “TikTok, however, has become a significant concern for us.”

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/3758180

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Chinese social media giant TikTok is “more dangerous” to Ukraine in terms of spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation than the Russia-founded messaging app Telegram, according to Alina Aleksieeva, the deputy head of Ukraine’s State Center for Countering Disinformation (CPD).

[…]

“We often perceive Telegram as the primary culprit, given its abundance of anonymous Russian channels and the impersonation of Ukrainian ones,” said Svitlana Slipchenko, deputy executive director of the data analytics platform Vox Ukraine.

“But the problem extends beyond Telegram — fake news is widespread on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads,” she added. “The danger is focusing too narrowly on one platform while Russian propaganda continues to thrive across the entire digital landscape.”

Earlier this year, the CPD published a list of over 80 TikTok accounts used for Russian disinformation. The list includes official accounts of Russian state media, such as TASS, Sputnik, and RIA Novosti.

[…]

Ukraine has previously considered banning TikTok. The app’s future in the U.S. is uncertain due to concerns that ByteDance may have ties to the Chinese government. U.S. authorities have also accused the app of spreading harmful content and misinformation and posing privacy risks.

[…]

Ukraine has been paying close attention to foreign social media apps due to the risks they pose to its users amid the ongoing war. Earlier in September, Ukraine banned Telegram on official devices used by state and security officials, military personnel, and employees of critical infrastructure facilities.

[…]

  • sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    1·
    22 days ago

    Well yeah, Telegram is basically intended for one on one or group discussion, there’s pretty much no content filtering. TikTok is about curating a content stream. There are a lot more opportunities to mess with what content you see on TikTok vs Telegram.

    So a social media app like TikTok, Facebook, etc will have a lot more say in what gets presented compared to a communication platform like Telegram.

    Comparing Telegram to TikTok is nonsensical.