Telegram Founder Considers Blocking Accounts Spreading COVID-19 Misinformation Ineffective

Blocking accounts that spread misinformation about the coronavirus is an ineffective measure in the fight against disinformation. This was stated by Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram.

He recalled that a year ago the theory that the coronavirus could have originated in a laboratory in Wuhan was debunked. Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks began to block such messages, but now this idea is being examined from a scientific perspective.

“Such incidents particularly complicate the fight against false messages and disinformation. They can also significantly undermine people's trust in the impartiality of social networks and jeopardize further efforts to combat misinformation,” Durov wrote on his Telegram channel.