Telegram is an instant messaging application, launched in 2013, and directed by Russian-born businessman Pavel Durov. Since its inception, it stood out as an alternative to WhatsApp for the freedom and privacy of the user, refusing to share information with the authorities.

This made Telegram the communication channel used by dissidents in authoritarian regimes such as Russia or Iran, where it has been used to organize protests. But it has also caused channels of sensitive content to flourish, protected from anonymity: drug sales, far-right activities, disinformation.