Speculations and Russian Media Propaganda Surrounding the Arrest of Telegram's CEO in France

Moscow has come to the defense of the messaging app Telegram following the arrest of its CEO in France, without recalling the challenging history of the French government in blocking Telegram, and accuses the West of violating freedom of expression. In the meantime, narratives containing false information are also being disseminated in the usual manner of Kremlin political propaganda. Pavel Durov, a 39-year-old Russian billionaire and CEO of Telegram, who accepted French citizenship three years ago and currently resides in Dubai, gave an interview to controversial former Fox News reporter Tucker Carlson last spring after years of media silence, stating that he has faced pressure from governments due to his support for freedom of expression and refusal to cooperate with intelligence-security agencies. In this interview, he emphasized his determination to maintain Telegram's 'neutrality' and claimed that freedom of expression is threatened not only by authoritarian governments but also in democratic countries like the United States and by tech giants like Google and Apple. The founder and CEO of Telegram was arrested on the evening of August 25 as part of an investigation into Telegram's role in various serious crimes in France. In its first reaction to the arrest of its CEO, the Telegram messaging network called the claim of his responsibility for content published by users 'ridiculous.' Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson, declined to comment on Pavel Durov's arrest and called for more details to be revealed. He also denied a meeting between the Russian president and the CEO of Telegram. The Russian president was in Baku last week, and the CEO of Telegram visited the capital of Azerbaijan on the same date before heading to France on his private jet. Multiple Russian media outlets have reported that no decision has yet been made regarding Russia's official reaction to Durov's arrest. The Meduza media outlet, citing sources in the Russian presidential office, reported that there are three possible reasons for the arrest of the Telegram CEO: pressure from the U.S. ahead of the presidential elections, especially given Durov's increasing leanings towards the Republicans; Paris's dissatisfaction with the CEO's interactions with the Azerbaijani government; and that this might be a ploy by Durov, who is seeking to offer his shares on the U.S. stock market and may want to attract more attention to Telegram and increase the value of his company. Meanwhile, the French president stated that the arrest of the Telegram CEO is not related to political issues, and the Paris prosecutor announced that Durov's arrest is related to investigations into collusion with a cybercriminal. Supporters of the 'New People' party in Russia gathered in front of the French embassy in Moscow to protest Durov's arrest. While recent days have shown a significant increase in Telegram users in the U.S. and France, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT, has urged Russian users to delete sensitive correspondence on this messaging app. She claims that Western intelligence-security services are seeking access to information published on Telegram and that Durov has no choice but to hand over the 'keys.' Telegram uses a type of encryption for messaging that relies on users' own tools and is constantly changing, thus, it is widely believed that Telegram is unhackable. Following Pavel Durov's arrest, the Telegram channel 'Baza,' close to the Russian security service, reported that Russian officials have been instructed to delete important and sensitive correspondence. However, the Kremlin spokesperson denied this report while emphasizing that using public messaging services is against laws and regulations. Since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine, Telegram has become the most important communication tool for Russian soldiers. A group of pro-war reporters known as 'Z Reporters' has become the main source of information about the front for many Russian citizens, and although they often criticize senior military officials, they enjoy Kremlin support and have met with the Russian president several times. Additionally, due to restrictions placed on official Russian media in Western countries, the Russian government uses Telegram channels of the Z group to inform outside the country. Recently, Novaya Gazeta reported that around 800 Telegram channels in 30 languages are financially supported by the Russian government. Many Russian media and news agencies that have been blocked in Europe have their channels on Telegram and circumvent the imposed restrictions this way. According to Novaya Gazeta's estimates, these channels are read daily by about 100 million users, and this audience is on the rise. In this context, Andrei Medvedev, a prominent Russian propagandist, has repeatedly called Telegram 'the most important messaging app of the war.' According to Meduza, since the Kremlin has not taken a definitive stance on the recent developments surrounding Telegram, state-affiliated media have yet to receive guidelines for covering news on this matter. Sources from this publication in the Russian presidential office say that media have currently been instructed to target 'violations of freedom of expression in Western countries' and to avoid reactions to Telegram itself and its CEO. For this reason, some, including Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and an active Telegram user, claim that the issues surrounding this messaging app stem from its management's lack of cooperation with the Russian government, while members of the 'New People' party are demonstrating in support of Pavel Durov in front of the French embassy in Moscow with government permission. Additionally, according to the Agnystva publication, official media are spreading false information about the arrest of the Telegram CEO. For example, this publication has observed that the news of '20 years of prison threat for Pavel Durov' was published by Kremlin-backed media, and although it has no credible source, even Elon Musk has shared it on X.