Content-sharing platform Disclose.tv accuses Google and Apple of temporarily ‘censoring’ content on its Telegram group chat

Disclose.tv, a Reddit-like service for people who seek “true insight into what is actually happening in the world” has accused Google and Apple of censoring its group chat on Telegram messenger.

The service blamed “Big Tech oligarchs at Google and Apple” for the apparent glitch in the display of its Telegram chat on devices running Android and iOS operating systems. On Android, all comments were replaced with a notice stating that they “cannot be displayed on Telegram apps downloaded from the Google Play Store.” The iOS version of the messenger simply refused to display the channel.

The web version of Telegram could still access the Disclose.tv channel as normal. The Android variant installed directly rather than through Google’s App Store worked fine as well, the platform said. About an hour after the warning was posted, the display of comments went back to normal.

It was not immediately clear whether the malfunction was indeed an act of censorship by the US tech giants, as claimed by Disclose.tv, or some bug in Telegram code. If the former is true, it would apparently mean that the owners of the stores have the power to selectively suspend content on apps that they distribute to users.

Unlike Google, Apple does not allow users to install apps it has not approved, so the ramifications of the censorship scenario are more profound for iPhone owners.

Disclose.tv is a German-based content sharing platform that has been operational since 2007. It caters for an audience that wants “to gain true insight into what is actually happening as the world becomes increasingly complex,” according to its own description. Its Telegram channel has more than 270,000 subscribers.

Some of the posts on the platform include an observation that four ‘progress pride’ flags with a triangle lapel can form a swastika if placed in a certain way, and a suggestion that the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympic Games foreshadowed the Covid-19 pandemic. With Silicon Valley obsessed with rooting out what they consider misinformation, one can see how Disclose.tv could fall foul with Google and Apple.

After the chat was fixed, the platform called for “breaking up Big Tech.”

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