Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Telegram has banned the public channel of Holocaust.claims—which had nearly 5,000 subscribers—without giving any prior warning or explanation to its administrator.
This comes despite the platform long touting its commitment to free speech, which in the past has included refusing to comply with regional censorship laws or even copyright claims.
Holocaust.claims is a blog dedicated towards providing digestible and searchable information on Holocaust revisionism. It also had a Telegram channel where it would post it's articles along with commentary from the channels administrator.
However, on March 4th the administrator noticed that the channel was no longer working, and subsequently that the channel was gone.
The Justice Report was able to independently confirm her claims. On Desktop, links to the channel no longer work and instead display the message "Sorry, this channel is not accessible."
On Mobile, links to the channel say that it is a private channel and that you can't access the chat because "you were banned by an admin."
According to the administrator, she was the only one with administrative privileges, suggesting that Telegram likely took down the channel.
She noted that no explanation was provided for the ban and that, although she reached out to support, she doubts she will receive a response.
The removal of a public channel that did not violate Telegram’s terms of service—and the lack of transparency regarding its removal—represents a troubling departure from the platform’s professed commitment to free speech.
Telegram has played a critical role in distributing war footage from conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, content that otherwise would not have reached Western audiences.
Additionally, Telegram became a refuge for individuals censored from mainstream social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter during the peak censorship period in 2021.
In recent years, Telegram has faced increased scrutiny from Western governments due to its commitment to free speech and resistance to censorship requests.
Nevertheless, Telegram has often complied with censorship demands from major tech companies, notably agreeing with Apple and Google to "app ban" specific channels to ensure the app remains available on their app stores.
However, in 2021, Telegram released a version of its Android app directly downloadable from its website, allowing users to access channels blocked by these app store restrictions.
Since Hamas's raid on Israel on October 7, 2023, Telegram's censorship practices have again attracted attention.
Several Hamas-affiliated channels were quickly "app banned" following requests from Google, preventing standard Android and Apple users from accessing their content. Prior to these bans, CNN reported that Hamas’s military wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, experienced a substantial increase in followers—tripling within just ten days following the raid.
App bans are not confined solely to Hamas-related content. Reports indicate similar bans frequently affect White Nationalist and pro-White accounts as well.
In the summer of 2024, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov was arrested in France on charges related to "complicity in offenses involving the organized distribution of child pornography and drug trafficking."
However, this action has drawn criticism as an attack on free speech, given that Telegram maintains relatively permissive content moderation compared to other social media platforms.
After posting a bail of 5€ million, Durov remains restricted from leaving France pending trial or dismissal of charges. Recent reports suggest that Durov's trial might not commence until 2026.
Since Durov’s arrest, censorship practices on Telegram have intensified. Channels that are either affiliated with or supportive of the Axis of Resistance have made complaints about shadow banning, sudden subscriber losses numbering in the dozens or even hundreds, and exclusion from "similar channel" suggestions.
Middle East Spectator—which leaked US intelligence documents that helped thwart an Israeli strike on Iran last year—says his channel was removed from similar channel suggestions in early January, which has significantly impacted the channels subscriber growth.
The Justice Report's main telegram channel was also removed from similar channel suggestions in early December 2024.
The total removal of the Holocaust.claims channel marks the latest escalation in censorship on Telegram. Previously, only channels that openly supported terrorist groups such as ISIS or proliferated child sex abuse material were deleted from the platform.
The possibility that public channels could now be banned—even if they haven't posted content violating Telegram’s terms of service—is deeply concerning.
It could potentially impact the reporting of Israel's war in Gaza if channels that cover the conflict from the Palestinian perspective are banned. This concern is amplified by recent revelations that one prominent Telegram channel accepted payment to disseminate Zionist propaganda.
Last month, Bellum Acta—a key pillar of the open-source intelligence (OSINT) community on Telegram—was exposed by the Justice Report for taking payment to mute criticism of Israel.
An anonymous insider revealed that Bellum Acta refused to support their venture due to content deemed critical of Israel and the Trump administration.
When pressed for an explanation, they were told by Bellum Acta that doing so would violate an ongoing agreement with Visegrád 24, which was allegedly paying them $10,000 for pro-Israel and “Pro-Western” content for the next five months.
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