3 wk. ago • 76%

Is there a way to check out insane platforms like Telegram and TruthSocial without using their app?

I sort of want to see what these things are like but I don't want to give them any data or contribute to them in any way haha. I've heard the Queen of Canada uses it which intrigues me

36 comments

insane platforms like Telegram

Is telegram considered insane? It's basically just a messaging app that people can form group chats in.

81
- There's also some official groups for normal projects. I know for example PixelExperience ROM used to have a community over there before shutting down.
  
  22
- I'm not in part of the world where telegram is more commonplace but from an outside prospective I've always kind of held the opinion it's more for fringe groups and users who have reasons to hide their conversations. Thinking back that may be largely due to the lack of moderation and it being mentioned in the same sentence as some illegal activities. I can't say whether any of this is true but my uninformed opinion is built upon its association with other unsavory parts of the internet, real or not.
  
  Edit a week later: case in point https://www.propublica.org/article/telegram-pavel-durov-arrest-domestic-terrorism-extremism
  
  Sounds like they have a nazi bar problem, and their actions welcome it. No thanks.
  
  3
  
  I live in the US, and I have dozens of people from my contacts who have it installed. I don't know how many are actively using it, but it's definitely a common app for people to have.
  
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  it’s more for fringe groups and users who have reasons to hide their conversations
  
  Why would Telegram help with that? Telegram isn't private or anonymous. You sign up with a phone number and the company can read every communication you make.
  
  6
  
  I use it because it's the best mobile messaging app by far. WhatsApp feels like the stone age compared to telegram.
  
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Why is Telegram "insane"?

41
- Probably because there is tons of known criminal activity, most chats are not encrypted, the CEO was just arrested, etc.
  
  OP is probably interested in seeing the chaos of the platform without necessarily being part of it. I imagine that’s somehow seeing the illicit activity going on.
  
  17
  
  I'm interested in the political stuff particularly, I don't really know or hang around any of the people who seem to use it and it would be interesting to be able to see that unfolding.
  
  You always hear about reports of Twitter threads or Telegram communities in the news (like the Queen of Canada) but I sometimes want to actually see things firsthand so I can understand how these people interact. Its like watching a nature documentary almost
  
  11
  
  Its one of the few ways to communicate without major privacy issues, so of course it attracts criminal activity in some way. The insane part is that it somehow became normal for governments to spy on their citizens to an extent where the CEO of a communications platform is being arrested for not spying on their users.
  
  3
- Why is Telegram "insane"?
  
  Because you get people who think other people’s opinions are “programmed”, or that those people are “brainwashed”.
  
  Telegram serves useful purposes. Unfortunately, it can also be a breeding ground for the tin foil hat folks.
  
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  Where do you NOT get those people?
  
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- OP’s programming mandates it.
  
  Edit: the next step is to accuse anyone who disagrees with that characterization of being a “Russian” or “Chinese” bot or even a “tankie” if I say anything that wouldn’t belong in Bob Dole’s campaign platform from 40 years ago. It’s so pervasive among lemmy.world users that “programming” is the only word I know of that captures how brainwashed into fighting this tribalist “culture war” they actually are.
  
  4
  
  Ok
  
  11
  
  It’s like far-left rhetoric (especially the kind that seems to come from people who have never seen how e.g. spoilers work or who have never had to find a compromise) isn’t actually that popular, so you see pushback from the instance that dominates the user population, especially with it having users who aren’t “ideologically aligned” with a specific instance and who may have a perspective outside the bubble. I don’t know, just a theory.
  
  -4
The Donald subreddit migrated to patriots.win (that's the url) when it got banned. It's kind of an old reddit clone just filled with more hate. I check it out every so often to see the temperature of trump world and try to get some insight on what my crazy aunt and uncle are thinking about before I see them. I don't think it's as large as the others but you are able to browse it in a web browser.

15
Telegram isn't insane, I just use it for piracy

Don't go on any right wing media sites, trust me they'll impact your mental health even if you think they don't because they linger in your mind for a while and that impacts you mentally

Don't waste your mental energy and will only sites like that

8
- Why do you consider telegram private? It's a pretty bad option for that. They are only using true end-to-end encryption when using the explicit "secret chat" feature, which is limited to one-on-one still, afaik.
  
  "Normal"/default encryption gets resolved on telegram servers, so your clear text messages are sitting there for them to do whatever they want. Given that telegram is based in UAE and has knownRussian management influence,I'd be extra hesitant.
  
  It also is for-profit and closed-source for the servers ( only clients are open source), so nobody knows what the servers really do.
  
  If you care about privacy, go use Signal or any Matrix-based messenger such as Element. Especially because they lack zero of the comfort and usability that Telegram offer, but are much more secure.
  
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  They said PIRACY not PRIVACY
  
  also, I don't know why most people shill signal online, it's a US controlled honeypot
  
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Is it required to give them useful data? Thinking of using an old smartphone with bogus personal info, single-purpose email account etc.

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- Telegram is one of the very few services in existence that dont fuck with your data. I dont understand the concern in registering there
  
  2
In Germany a lot of people have Telegram and fheret are many local groups or project related stuff. It's not the dark web, just register and check it out. There is some crazy stuff there as well, sometimes when I'm bored I search for it.

6
Truth social has a website

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- So does Telegram
  
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Reddit has subreddits for 4chan and Truth Social. You'd be getting a curated snapshot, but it would let you view without making an account.

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Telegram is frustratingly one of those "privacy focused" apps that for some reason feels entitled to have your phone number and requires you to install their app to use. So yes, you need to give it to them. Some feeds have "previews" which can be viewed in the browser, but I'm not sure how common that is.

Also, doesn't Canada have a king now? Do they still recognise the UK royalty as heads of state, or did that change?

3
- Also, doesn't Canada have a king now? Do they still recognise the UK royalty as heads of state, or did that change
  
  OP isn't talking about our old gal Lizzie, they're talking about the queen of Canada Romana Didulo, who leads a QAnon-based cult and tours around Canada with them in an RV. Here's an excerpt from her Wikipedia article about her claims to the throne:
  
  Though Didulo did not initially explain the basis for her claim to be the Monarch of Canada, she later clarified that she had been "appointed" to that position by an American named David J. Carlson, purportedly the "Commander-In-Chief" and "King" of the United States. Didulo claims that Carlson appointed her after she led in 2017 a mission against the Chinese communist military, who were allegedly occupying Canada in underground tunnels, where they were producing adrenochrome, trafficking humans and planning to start World War III by attacking the United States.
  
  4
- It pretends to be privacy focused, but because everything but 1-to-1 secret chats (where you have compared session identifiers) are accessible to the company and they keep logs of all group chats which they can access (even if they claim they can't, that's bullshit)
  
  2
- Telegram is not private at all. Nothing is encrypted except Secret Chat.
  
  2

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