How Telegram Became a Playground for Criminals, Extremists and Terrorists [Video]

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For millions of people, Telegram is like any other social media or messaging app.

In Brazil, 167,000 people subscribe to a Telegram channel for news about reality shows and entertainment.

More than one million users in India prepare for government exams in another channel.

And in one called Whale with more than three million followers, crypto trading tips are swapped in Arabic.

Look deeper, and a dark underbelly emerges.

Uncut lumps of cocaine and shards of crystal meth are for sale on the app. Handguns and stolen checks are widely available.

White nationalists use the platform to coordinate fight clubs and plan rallies.

Hamas broadcast its Oct. 7 attack on Israel on the site.

Telegram has become a global sewer of criminal activity, disinformation, child sexual abuse material, terrorism and racist incitement, …