Hamas Sees Surge in Social Media Following on Telegram After Terror Attack

Since the October 7th terror attack on Israel, Hamas has been barred from most social media platforms. However, its following has surged on the popular messaging app Telegram. One account belonging to the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, has seen its following triple, and there has been a ten-fold increase in the number of views of videos and other content posted by the account.

Despite being designated a foreign terror organization in the United States and facing penalties for hosting terroristic content under new European Union internet laws, Telegram has allowed Hamas to continue using its service. While platforms like Meta (formerly Twitter) and Google prohibit Hamas accounts and have taken measures to remove affiliated accounts, Telegram has decided to provide a platform for the group.

The Telegram channel for Hamas’ military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, had about 200,000 followers before the attack. Since then, its following has more than tripled, with videos and posts being viewed more than 300,000 times, a more than 10-fold increase. Another channel that posts video messages from a Hamas spokesperson has also seen a significant increase in followers, reaching more than 414,000.

Telegram’s loose content moderation rules have made it popular among extremist groups worldwide and far-right groups in the United States. The platform experienced a growth in popularity after the January 6th attack on the US Capitol when individuals promoting election conspiracy theories turned to Telegram after being banned from Facebook and Twitter. Currently, approximately 800 million people use Telegram globally.

Experts, however, point out that not all the followers of Hamas’ Telegram accounts are supporters. Many journalists, researchers, and others likely follow the accounts to gather information. Nonetheless, Telegram can be an effective propaganda tool, as some followers may repost the material on other platforms.

Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, has defended his decision to allow Hamas to use his platform, stating that shutting down their channel could potentially endanger lives. He argued that Telegram operates differently from other platforms, as it doesn’t use algorithms to promote content and that Hamas channels serve as a source of first-hand information for researchers, journalists, and fact-checkers.

While social media platforms have faced lawsuits in the past for hosting terror group content, US courts have generally been skeptical of holding them accountable. Internet platforms in the US have broad leeway in moderating their content thanks to legal protections under the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Regarding content moderation, Telegram may benefit from Section 230, making it difficult for legal action to force the removal of Hamas content. Nevertheless, in the European Union, where regulations exist requiring platforms to remove terrorism content promptly, Telegram could face tougher scrutiny. Platform non-compliance could lead to fines of up to 4% of their annual revenue.

In recent warnings, the European Union has stated that very large platforms could face substantial fines if their handling of illegal content or mis- and disinformation violates the Digital Services Act. While it remains unclear whether Telegram has received similar warnings or requests from the European Commission, it is not currently listed as a platform subject to heightened DSA obligations.