Freedom’s lifeline or lawless frontier? Understanding Telegram’s role in global media

Telegram occupies a paradoxical position in the global media ecosystem. In much of the Western world, it is discussed primarily as a security challenge — associated with illicit markets, extremist networks, and opaque communities. In contrast, in countries such as Iran, Belarus, and Russia, Telegram remains one of the few platforms where independent journalism, dissent, and pluralistic debate can still reach mass audiences.
This session will explore Telegram’s complex dual role: as a vital refuge for public interest media in authoritarian regimes — and as a regulatory blind spot exploited by malign actors in more democratic environments. What happens to journalism in a platform without algorithms, established monetization tools, or transparent governance? How do media navigate a space that is at once radically free and radically unsafe? Can Telegram’s design be both a liberation and a liability?
We’ll examine case studies of independent newsrooms that have built large audiences on Telegram, explore how authoritarian states attempt to surveil or weaponize the platform, and discuss whether Telegram should be brought under global platform regulation — or treated as something fundamentally different.
The goal of the panel is to reframe Telegram in the eyes of the Western media ecosystem — not as a digital curiosity or a lawless frontier, but as one of the most politically charged and consequential information platforms of the post-platform era. This discussion will offer key insights for journalists, researchers, policymakers, and digital rights advocates navigating the fragile future of free expression online.
Moderated by Alex Vorobev.
Organised in association with The Fix.