‘It’s a Telegram revolution’: Messaging app proves crucial to Belarus protests

Every day, like clockwork, to-do lists for those protesting against Belarus’ authoritarian leader appear in the popular Telegram messaging app. Gathering at the Independence Square.” The app has become an indispensable tool in coordinating the unprecedented mass protests that have rocked Belarus since Aug. 9, when election officials announced that President Alexander Lukashenko — whom some call “Europe’s last dictator” — had won a landslide victory to extend his 26-year rule in a vote widely seen as rigged. “Telegram channels did help to pierce the information blackout, but I have to say that it wasn’t just them,” said Andrei Bastunets, head of the Belarusian Assn. “Telegram channels played a mobilizing, an organizing role, while more balanced information could be found on Telegram channels of media outlets.” Social media platforms have played major roles in previous uprisings, including in the Arab Spring, anti-government protests in Hong Kong and demonstrations against racial injustice in the United States. “Telegram channels and websites that don’t belong to our government are the main source of information today as we cannot at all rely on state media,” said Roman Semenov, who follows the NEXTA channels and joined a rally in central Minsk on Wednesday evening.