Expert: After shutting down Telegram, Russian intelligence recruitment agencies to shift to other platforms

Yurii Antoshchuk, an expert on information and communication technologies, told Ukrinform about this.

“Terrorist attacks in Ukrainian cities carried out by Ukrainians recruited by the Russian Federation, propaganda, or information operations aimed at demoralization on social media using AI-generated videos and numerous comments on them posted by bot farms—these are links in the same chain. Telegram or any other messenger used for recruitment is just one tool. If Telegram is gone, there will be WhatsApp or any other messenger (and they are already being used now),” Antoshchuk believes.

He stated that the countermeasure to recruitment cannot be merely technical or repressive, such as shutting down Telegram or another platform. If we “shut everything down,” recruitment will move to other platforms. It will slow down a bit but catch up on a larger scale over time, appealing to the fact that “there is no freedom of speech now” and the like.

As the expert emphasizes, it is best to work strategically and long-term with all segments of society. And here the task is for everyone—parents, the state, and the civil sector.

Telegram is not the only platform used by Russian intelligence agencies for recruitment; young people can also be recruited through online games and specialized forums.

“Young people can also be recruited through online games and specialized forums. For example, it looks like this: a game (in-game chat) – transition to a more private community (e.g., Discord or a Telegram group) – transition to one-on-one communication via a messenger (Telegram/Signal) – real-life tasks,” says the expert.

As reported by Ukrinform, Russia has found ways to “bias” AI, which poses a strategic and long-term threat.

The photo is provided by Yurii Antoshchuk