Telegram blocks account that incited crowds to storm Russian airport

Telegram blocks Morning of Dagestan account because it incited a violent crowd to storm the airport of the Russian Republic of Dagestan in search of Israelis.

RIA Novosti on October 30 quoted Sergey Melikov, leader of the Russian Republic of Dagestan, accusing the Telegram channel Morning of Dagestan of inciting riots at Makhachkala International Airport on October 29. The owner of this account has not been identified.

Telegram blocked the Morning of Dagestan account on October 30. Telegram founder Pavel Durov posted a screenshot from the account on the same day and announced that he would block channels that call for anti-Semitic violence in the Republic of Dagestan.

"Channels inciting violence will be blocked for violating the rules of Telegram, Google, Apple and the entire civilized world," Durov wrote.

Morning of Dagestan previously posted more than a dozen posts, containing information about the status of a commercial flight from Tel Aviv, Israel to the Republic of Dagestan. The account called on Muslims to gather at Makhachkala International Airport to ask passengers on the flight whether they were protesting against the Israeli government. If the passengers did not condemn the Israeli government, they would be stopped.

Morning of Dagestan also called on the crowd to film passengers and track their license plates but not to incite them to attack.

Crowds stormed the runway at Makhachkala airport in Russia's Dagestan Republic on October 29. Photo: AFP

The leader of the Republic of Dagestan accused the Morning of Dagestan account of being controlled from Ukraine. The spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry meanwhile said that the riot at the airport of the Republic of Dagestan was a result of Russian anti-Semitism.

Telegram is popular in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. However, the platform is largely uncensored, making it both a rich source of information and a thriving hub for extremist groups and conspiracy theorists.

According to NBC , Telegram's blocking of Morning of Dagestan's account is a rare move because the platform usually only deletes posts containing violating content, not blocking the entire account.

The militant group Hamas has used Telegram to maintain a social media presence for years. Telegram’s founder initially supported Hamas-linked accounts to serve as both news sources and to warn Palestinians about Israeli attacks. But last week, Telegram rolled out several versions of the app that blocked Hamas-linked channels.

A mob stormed the airport in the Republic of Dagestan on October 29, searching for Jews after a Telegram appeal. The riot left more than 20 people injured and 83 arrested.

Ngoc Anh (According to NBC/Reuters )

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/telegram-khoa-tai-khoan-kich-dong-dam-dong-tran-vao-san-bay-nga-4671162.html