Study indicates Telegram’s algorithm promotes extremist content

A recent study, exclusively shared with the BBC, has disclosed that the social media platform Telegram employs an algorithm designed to advance extremist material. This report, authored by the US civil rights organization the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), determined that the “similar channels” function, launched last year, suggests extremist channels even to individuals exploring topics like celebrities or technology. Furthermore, a professor demonstrated to BBC Panorama how he swiftly located an individual on Telegram willing to send an Uzi submachine gun to the UK for £850. Telegram asserts that its users are “only presented with content they have chosen to engage with” and that it daily eliminates millions of items of harmful content. Pavel Durov, the Russian billionaire who founded the company, is currently facing a formal investigation in France on accusations of not preventing criminal activity on his platform. He has refuted these allegations. Primarily recognized as a messaging application promoted for its privacy features, Telegram also enables its nearly one billion users to establish groups where they can disseminate messages and videos to as many as 200,000 individuals simultaneously. For their report, titled Telegram’s Toxic Recommendations, SPLC researchers examined 28,000 of these Telegram channels. The study revealed that users exploring ordinary subjects would receive recommendations for extreme content, and those engaging with one type of extreme content, like anti-government conspiracies, would be directed toward other extremist ideologies such as antisemitism or white nationalism. Megan Squire, the lead researcher, illustrated the algorithm’s operation by searching for “Donald Trump” using a newly created Telegram account. Instantly, the “similar channels” suggestions included numerous instances of channels advocating the Q-Anon conspiracy, which asserts, without any supporting evidence, that Mr Trump is conducting a covert conflict against elite Satan-worshipping paedophiles across government, business, and the media. A subsequent search for “UK riots” yielded a meme featuring Adolf Hitler as the initial outcome, succeeded by recommendations for several channels operated by violent far-right organizations. Ms Squire stated, “Some of these groups are pretty active. You’re not just on Telegram getting memes, you’re getting shuffled into to actual events. They’re having events on the ground with people showing up.” Following the Southport knife attack in August, which incited riots, Telegram users were among the first to issue calls for protest, alongside disseminating unsubstantiated assertions that the alleged assailant was an asylum seeker. Ms Squire informed BBC Panorama that the investigation indicated Telegram had evolved into a “digital threat.” She commented, “On a scale of one to 10, Telegram I would say is an 11. It’s dishing out enormous amounts of criminal content, extremist content. It is extremely dangerous in my opinion.” Elies Campo, a former insider who spent six years within Telegram’s inner circle, disclosed to Panorama that he had confronted Pavel Durov regarding extreme material in 2021. Mr Campo remarked, “His stance was it’s not up to a platform like us to decide who should be speaking out. It was clear that he didn’t want to dedicate more resources to it.” “I think if he could choose, he would choose more a stand where he doesn’t have to moderate anything.” Prof David Maimon of Georgia State University, who has dedicated six years to researching illicit content on Telegram, stated that tens of thousands of channels provide a range of items, from scamming tools to firearms. He asserted, “Telegram is definitely one of the most important platforms criminals are using now for criminality.” He demonstrated to Panorama how, shortly after posting a message indicating a need for “an Uzi and a shotgun,” a vendor uploaded an image of an Uzi and claimed he could “get it fast-tracked” to the program’s Belfast address within two or three days. French authorities have charged Pavel Durov with complicity in drug dealing, organized crime, and the dissemination of child abuse images on Telegram. He is presently out on bail and prohibited from departing France. Telegram states that it treats extremist and unlawful content with great seriousness, and its moderation teams and AI tools eliminate millions of harmful content pieces daily. The company claims its users only access content they have subscribed to, as Telegram does not “inject or promote content.” The company explained, “The ‘channel suggestions’ feature shows only channels with the same topic as those a user already follows. This approach ensures that users are only presented with content they have chosen to engage with. This is completely different from how other platforms make suggestions.” Telegram asserted that “it does not amplify content, but instead shows topic-based suggestions tied to user choices.”