Telegram, a big messaging app, has stopped some channels linked to Hamas. This is happening while there’s a big fight between Hamas and Israel. One channel, run by Hamas’ fighting group called al-Qassam Brigades, can’t be used on phones anymore. This channel had over 700,000 people following it.
There’s another Hamas channel with 500,000 followers. It’s limited on some phones but can still be used on others. Because of these changes, some people think Telegram is trying to stop messages that support Hamas. Some other Telegram channels like Hamas have also been stopped. People using Android phones get a message saying they can’t see the channel. People using iPhones get a similar message.
News places like CNBC and TASS talked about these changes. Some people are unhappy with Telegram because it let Hamas use it. Other big online places like Meta, Google, and X (which used to be called Twitter) don’t let Hamas use them.
Some experts say that bad messages on Telegram can move to other online places. Telegram, which comes from Dubai, lets Hamas use it even though some people don’t like it. Google said they don’t let apps that talk about bad things like terrorism. Apple and Telegram haven’t said anything yet.
Telegram is liked by some groups that have strong opinions. After a big event in the U.S. on January 6, more people in the U.S. started using Telegram. Right now, about 800 million people around the world use Telegram.
