MEPs from ECR, EPP and Renew, have signed a letter urging the Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, to take action against Russian propaganda on Telegram.

In the letter, initiated by ECR MEP Witold Waszczykowski, the lawmakers note that prominent representatives of Russian propaganda, such as Russian TV presenter and propagandist Vladimir Solovyov and RT editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan, are using Telegram to spread disinformation and pro-Putin content to a wide audience.MEPs remind von der Leyen that she promised Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at a joint press conference that she would target Putin’s propagandists because their lies were poisoning public space in Russia and abroad.

The letter notes:

“We recognize the positive role Telegram has been playing in terms providing a platform for pro-Ukrainian sources of information. At the same time, it is our opinion that channels such as Telegram should be more proactive in policing their own content.

“The immediate exclusion of Russian propaganda channels from Telegram - as well as any other applications available on Google Play and/or the Apple Store - would be a tangible step in the right direction.”

Telegram is an instant messaging service widely used in Russia, with more than 700 million global users.