Federal authorities continue to publish their news and reports on Telegram ...

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📱💼 Federal authorities continue to publish their news and reports on Telegram despite its blocking. Views on their posts in TG channels have fallen, but they have many times fewer subscribers in the Max messenger

Contrary to statements that Telegram refuses to comply with Russian law and is therefore being "restricted," officials and security agencies go on using it as if nothing had happened to inform citizens, [MO] noted. And it remains the main platform for news and reports.

▪️The channels of the Kremlin, Government, State Duma, Federation Council, Defense Ministry, Health Ministry, Federal Tax Service, Investigative Committee, Prosecutor General's Office, other ministries and agencies, and even Roskomnadzor itself, which blocks Telegram, are updated regularly. Only the Ministry of Digital Development showed principle and abandoned its channel: there have been no new posts there since the end of March.

▪️After the blocking of Telegram began in February, publication reach fell for almost all government channels. For example, posts on the State Duma channel now average 3,000-15,000 views, whereas at the beginning of February they had 13,000-20,000. Defense Ministry posts are now read by 20,000-50,000 people, while at the beginning of February they were getting 50,000-70,000. Most channels have also seen subscriber numbers decline, although that process began long before the blockings and may not be connected to them.

▪️The channels mostly publish news and reports related to their agency's remit. The State Duma channel sometimes reposts photos of Volodin, while the Ministry of Economic Development makes pictures with Reshetnikov in the style of old computer games. Roskomnadzor on its own resource in the very Telegram it has blocked suggests guessing the author from the text of his poem. Many agencies urge readers in every post to subscribe to their channels in the Max messenger.

▪️The Federal Tax Service congratulated Russians on the May holidays on Telegram, highlighting the word "peace" in an improvised crossword. The Investigative Committee reported on its employees' participation in the "Immortal Regiment" march, which took place before Victory Day.

▪️Most channels of those same agencies in Max still have not managed to gain as many subscribers as on Telegram. The State Duma channel in the national messenger has 40,000 subscribers, while on TG it has 120,000. The Defense Ministry has gained 176,000 in Max, versus almost 600,000 on Telegram. Standing out against the general background is the Kremlin channel, which has gained 1.3 million subscribers in Max, although it has fewer than 300,000 in Durov's messenger.

▪️Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev explained in early February that the blocking of Telegram was the authorities' response to the "systematic and ongoing violation by the messenger of the requirements of federal law". Since then, there have been no reports that Telegram has "corrected itself," and Durov called for "digital resistance." Nevertheless, the authorities see no problem with covering their activities on this lawbreaking messenger.

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