Telegram founder Pavel Durov has thrown shade at Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg following the latter’s announcement of a significant overhaul to content moderation policies on Facebook and Instagram.
In a Telegram post on Wednesday, Durov expressed skepticism about the sincerity of this newfound commitment to free speech.
“I’m proud that Telegram has supported freedom of speech long before it became politically safe to do so,” Durov stated, adding, “Our values don’t depend on US electoral cycles.”
He then took a direct jab at Meta’s shift, commenting, “Today, other platforms are announcing they’ll now have less censorship. But the real test of their newly discovered values will come once the political winds change again. It’s easy to say you support something when you risk nothing.”
Durov’s remarks come on the heels of Zuckerberg’s announcement, detailed in a recent Dzambhala report, where the Meta CEO criticized legacy media for “political” censorship and declared it time to restore “free expression” on his platforms. Zuckerberg outlined plans to move away from fact-checkers and ease restrictions on certain topics.
This move echoes similar changes implemented by Elon Musk after his acquisition of Twitter, where a focus on “free speech absolutism” led to the reinstatement of previously banned accounts and a reduction in moderation efforts.
Durov’s skepticism is perhaps informed by his own experiences navigating censorship challenges.
The Telegram founder famously left Russia after resisting pressure to censor political opposition.
Additionally, in 2011, while still leading the Russian social network VKontakte, Durov faced scrutiny after refusing to remove opposition groups following parliamentary elections.
In a dramatic incident that sparked global outrage, Durov was arrested in France in August last year over allegations of his platform being utilized for criminal activity.