Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Telegram Launches Telegraph, An Anonymous Blogging Platform (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the no-sign-up-required dept.

Telegram has unveiled a new blogging platform called Telegraph, which offers fast publishing and anonymous posting without requiring you to sign up or sign in via social media. The Verge reports: The app's user interface looks very similar to Medium and allows for easy embeds. You can also embed images from your computer by clicking on the camera button. In comparison to Medium, the loading time for embeds is relatively fast. Publication is instantaneous upon hitting "publish." Posts are shareable on social media platforms but are designed to work best on Telegram's new Instant View layout, which works similarly to Facebook's Instant Articles feature. The simplicity and speed of Telegraph are not without its downsides. As TechCrunch points out, the lack of user history means that if you accidentally delete the link to your published post, it would be very difficult to track down unless you have cookies enabled on your browser. The anonymous nature also opens up opportunities for abuse, potentially paving the way for internet trolls and spreaders of fake news -- a problem that has put tech giants like Facebook and Google under scrutiny.

30 comments

  1. honeytrap by turkeydance · · Score: 1, Informative

    101

    1. Re: honeytrap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, Telegram is cited in MSM all the time and that is not a good thing, I'd trust Signal instead...

    2. Re: honeytrap by afranke · · Score: 1

      You should read Why I don't recommend Signal anymore (by Sander Venema).

    3. Re: honeytrap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure but the cryptography and protocol is solid and open, can't say that about Telegram.

  2. FIRST POST STOP by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    STOP

  3. Whahahs by fubarrr · · Score: 1

    >anonymous

    It extorts your phone number, and the call itself anonymous

    1. Re:Whahahs by Ash-Fox · · Score: 1

      It extorts your phone number, and the call itself anonymous

      No it doesn't. You just get to write the article on Telegra.ph and optionally sign a name if you want.

      --
      Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
  4. Finally! by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

    We're gonna know who all is screwing everyone's mother

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  5. Oh boy, is this going to be fun... by Anaerin · · Score: 2

    I mean, a news outlet called "Telegraph"? I would never have thought of that before... Oh, wait...

    1. Re:Oh boy, is this going to be fun... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And the lawyers come out in 3... 2... 1...

    2. Re:Oh boy, is this going to be fun... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Next up, the Daily Telegram launches a microblogging service called 'Telegraph'!

      I'm going to need a cheat sheet to keep track of all these anachronistic names for modern media services...

  6. Who comes up with these names? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who comes up with these product names?

    1. Re:Who comes up with these names? by unixisc · · Score: 1

      Not a bad idea - take a technology that was popular 100 years ago but now obsolete, and use its name for something relevant today! But on a different note, does it not use email addresses either? Is it that anybody can create any login, and once its taken, they own it, but don't need to have any emails or other way of being tracked?

  7. Likely usage pattern by jrumney · · Score: 3, Funny
    1. 1. Spam (99%)
    2. 2. Bullying/Harrassment/Hate Speech (0.99%)
    3. 3. Free speech from politically vulnerable individuals (0.01%)
    1. Re:Likely usage pattern by will_die · · Score: 2

      That is so wrong, you are missing pictures of mens' dicks.

    2. Re:Likely usage pattern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And that 0.01% is justification enough for it to exist.

    3. Re:Likely usage pattern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Translation:

      1. Spam (99%)
      2. Speech I disagree with (0.99%)
      3. Speech I agree with (0.01%)

    4. Re: Likely usage pattern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, it's not. It's like gun ownership, 1 case of legitimate defence where the victims successfully defend themselves using a gun does not justify the threat to society as a whole or the countless tragedies we have to witness. Sometimes some lives must be forfeit for the good of all. It's called being civilized. The internet must be civilized too.

    5. Re: Likely usage pattern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People only say this when they're heroically sacrificing other people's lives.

    6. Re: Likely usage pattern by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except words are not guns. Try to gain some perspective.

  8. translation by ooloorie · · Score: 1

    Let's translate this, shall we?

    The anonymous nature also opens up opportunities for frank discussion, potentially paving the way for independents, conservatives, and libertarians to post without left-wing hooligans doxing them or threatening them with violence, as they so frequently do -- something that tech giants like Facebook and Google don't particularly like because it contravenes the political and corporate interests of their founders

  9. pastebin by markybob · · Score: 1

    it's seriously just a pastebin. c'mon. this is stupid.

  10. Quite useless... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This platform requires the author to distribute the links, which is useful for tracking and given the DoD's manipulation of social media replacing humans with AI, its just the illusion of freedom.

    So, in the end, this will be used to push gov propaganda.

  11. Telegraph ? Samsung did it better... by LordHighExecutioner · · Score: 1

    ...with their new smartphone line capable of sending smoke signals for secure communication.

  12. Terrorist communications network by Neo-Rio-101 · · Score: 0

    Telegraph is the preferred method for terrorists and radicals to communicate.

    --
    READY.
    PRINT ""+-0
  13. Free speech is free speech by stevegee58 · · Score: 0

    Free speech is free speech no matter its content. So-called "false news", "alt-right fever swamps", "hate speech", and "trolling" are all free speech.
    If social media companies decide to censor speech on their platforms that's their business. The flip side is there needs to be uncensored alternatives to the mainstream SM platforms. Telegram is one of them.

    1. Re:Free speech is free speech by stevegee58 · · Score: 1

      Ugh voted down by a triggered snowflake.

  14. Differences with Diaspora? by Herve5 · · Score: 1

    Do I understand correctly that compared to Diaspora, Telegram
    - is closed source instead of open
    - but allow instant anonymous posting, while Diaspora requires you set up a minimal account on one of the pods?
    (which allows actual users instead of totally anonymous posts)
    H.

    --
    Herve S.
    1. Re:Differences with Diaspora? by stevegee58 · · Score: 1

      Sadly the technical barriers to entry for end users tends to sideline otherwise good open source projects.
      There are other examples that require using Tor. This alone is a non-starter for Granny Smith and other "normal" users.

  15. Ban it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Anon = pedo.