this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2025
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/35909566

SMH @ activists using techno-fascist platforms for communications during an operation subject to state-actor level interference. I thought we recognised and acknowledged this problem 15-20 years ago already.

https://xcancel.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/1965431513320927706

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 6 points 11 hours ago

using the empire's app and tracking devices for an act of defiance against the empire. they likely didn't even think of it.

leftists and activists desperately need more computer literacy.

[–] Catalyst_A@lemmy.ml 15 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

And they expected anything different???

[–] libre_warrior@lemmy.ml 2 points 17 hours ago

They always do.

[–] LaserTurboShark69@sh.itjust.works 60 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'm surprised they were using WhatsApp in the first place. Surely there are better options for something like this

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 57 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Several people in the comments suggest Telegram, which doesn't even encrypt group chats. Signal is likely the best option if the group is under 1000 members.

[–] Dreaming_Novaling@lemmy.zip 1 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (4 children)

Oh, I thought Telegram does encrypt chats, just that you have to enable it rather than it being on be default. Is encryption only available for one-on-one messages?

Oh well, I can't get my friends and family to use Signal anyway...

EDIT: My family only uses iMessage + RCS to chat with me (a Pixel), and my school clubs/friends are all on Discord or GroupMe. We don't use Telegram at all. I've been begging my mom to consider switching to Signal since they complain so much about the issues with messaging me, but it's yet to happen. I think I'm whittling her down tho 😉

[–] kilgore_trout@feddit.it 4 points 17 hours ago

I thought Telegram does encrypt chats, just that you have to enable it rather than it being on be default. Is encryption only available for one-on-one messages?

It's only available for 1-to-1, yes. But why would you rely on a service that hides the option to E2E encryption so well? Next step is to silently remove it.

Signal is private by default.

[–] bobzer@lemmy.zip 5 points 21 hours ago (3 children)

Telegram is owned by Russian Elon Musk and the FSB. Avoid it if you can.

[–] m532@lemmygrad.ml 1 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

If you fight against USrael, russia seems like a good idea. Worked for Snowden.

[–] bobzer@lemmy.zip 1 points 12 hours ago

They're both shitty imperialist countries responsible for wars and genocide.

I'll take neither, thanks.

[–] Dreaming_Novaling@lemmy.zip 4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Ah, just looked the guy up on Wiki. Yeah, Russian Elon musk seems about right.

We don't use Telegram and I never plan to.

[–] bobzer@lemmy.zip 2 points 21 hours ago

Yeah, 100+ kids is fucking wild.

[–] Aqarius@lemmy.world 2 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Durov only founded Telegram after he left Russia over Maidan. He was, however, recently arrested by the French, so...

[–] Rose@lemmy.zip 2 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago)

He left it performatively. Since then, he's secretly visited Russia, one time just around its unblocking in Russia, while pretending to be a fugitive.

Edit: Here's an article on that.

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 4 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

It does not have the option to encrypt group chats last I checked, and even the one-to-one encryption is not particularly well-liked among security experts.

This isn't about casual chats with friends and family, but political activism against the actions of a country. People doing that should be willing to put at least a trivial amount of effort into security.

[–] Dreaming_Novaling@lemmy.zip 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

Oh yeah, I know they're dogshit and that the activists should've been using Signal, I just didn't realize that Telegram doesn't encrypt group chats.

[–] m532@lemmygrad.ml -1 points 13 hours ago

Signal is sUS. Cia will read and genocide

[–] irotsoma@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 21 hours ago

Generally, the issue is that services want to blend the data into a single stream, otherwise you end up with having to make a separate connection to and from each client, each at full bandwidth called full mesh. It becomes easier to just have the encryption to the server, then decrypt all the streams from all the participating clients, and merge them into a single stream outbound. Adjust and re-encrypt that single stream and send it. That also allows for more control to make low bandwidth or dynamically changing bandwidth clients work better as you can adjust one stream rather than hundreds of outbound to each client. But that means the server has access to unencrypted streams to analyze and record. This is called server mixing.

Previous software generally only supported one or the other of those options. Signal is one of the few that have developed the technology to allow for selective forwarding which is the third option. Their website details how this works and it's open source so some others have adopted it or have come up with similar approaches.

[–] belated_frog_pants@beehaw.org 12 points 23 hours ago

Fuck were they using a compromised platform for :/

[–] RejZoR@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It's not Whatsapp, it's Facebook/Meta.

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 22 points 1 day ago (1 children)

That's a distinction without a difference. It's clearly risky to rely on that company for important communications.

[–] RejZoR@lemmy.ml 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

It is important because these big corporations are hiding behind different named apps pretending they aren't theirs.

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 2 points 11 hours ago

Meta does not try to hide its ownership of Whatsapp; it actively cross-promotes its other services in the Whatsapp UI.

[–] RedWizard@hexbear.net 2 points 21 hours ago

That's not a meaningful distinction. Either way they should be using matrix or anything else.

[–] interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml -3 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

What is "freedom flotilla" ? Seasteaders or torrent pirates ? something else ?

[–] LavaPlanet@sh.itjust.works 4 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

It's multiple boats, from multiple countries and locations on aid missions, all converging to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza. The Italian dock workers have threatened to shut down the entirety of Europe if their boats or any boats in the flotilla is fired upon. Which will be interesting because that has happened, a drone has struck one boat so far, nobody has been harmed yet.

[–] kilgore_trout@feddit.it 1 points 17 hours ago

The attack has not been claimed by Israeli army, so it's not possible to define a clear culprit.