TikTok is more dangerous than Telegram in terms of spreading disinformation – Ukrainian experts

Tik-Tok is now doing more harm than Telegram in terms of spreading Russian disinformation and propaganda. During the media conference “Factcheck in the Regions: Challenges, Difficulties, and Prospects,” Alina Alekseyeva, Deputy Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, stated this. Media Center Ukraine covered this story.

According to Alekseyeva, the local experts in combating disinformation at the Center for Countering Disinformation have “already studied” Telegram and understand its structure and operation. Instead, propaganda and disinformation spread through the TikTok video platform cause much more damage, she claimed.

Propaganda and disinformation spread on TikTok cause much damage – Alekseyeva

“At the center, we say that Telegram has already been studied and we understand its structure and functioning. Nowadays, Tik-Tok is causing much more damage. Because the vulnerable audience there is teenagers, our youth, and, oddly enough, the 55+ audience. Tik-Tok is actually a big problem now,” Alekseyeva said.

The Ukrainian official clarified that teenagers and people over 55 make up the most susceptible audience to propaganda.

In her turn, Svitlana Slipchenko, deputy director of the analytical platform VoxUkraine, noted that Ukrainian society is very much obsessed with the fact that Telegram is “a source of fakes.”

“Telegram is a top source for Ukrainians. We are deeply engrossed in the notion that Telegram is a source of fake content. There are indeed many anonymous Russian channels, as well as many anonymous channels that mimic Ukrainian ones. But are there fakes, for example, on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and threads? We, for example, found fakes everywhere and a lot of them, and probably no less than on Telegram,” Slipchenko said.

She added that “Russian propaganda exists on all platforms, and Russian disinformation continues to circulate.”

Slipchenko noted that in addition to the traditional narratives used by Russia in its information war against Ukraine, there are other levels of propaganda. For example, Russia produces various kinds of fake news on topical issues that concern Ukrainian society. According to her, if Ukrainian society is concerned about something, Russian fake news will definitely emerge about it.

Ban on Telegram for government officials and the military

On September 20, Ukraine’s National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity banned Ukrainian military personnel, government officials, and employees of critical infrastructure facilities from using the Telegram messenger on their official devices. The National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity made this decision.

It applies only to correspondence and sending documents via the messenger. However, the only exceptions will be those officials who use this messenger as part of their official duties. There is no ban on using Telegram on personal smartphones.