Last night Apple briefly removed Telegram from the AppStore because a user had planted illegal porn in a public chat.
Telegram was restored within hours. But I want to explain what happened — to warn other app developers and help protect online communities from similar attacks.
Because Telegram quickly removes illegal content from public groups using all kinds of moderation tools, the attacker had to resort to a technical trick. He inserted AI-modified illegal content by editing an old message in an active group chat. As a result the content was effectively hidden from the group’s members, preventing them from seeing/reporting it.
The attacker was a takedown extortionist: someone who demands ransom from group owners in exchange for not targeting their communities. These extortionists use automated accounts to plant illegal content in public groups and then report it directly to Apple, attempting to trigger the removal of legitimate communities whose owners refused to pay them.
From a practical standpoint, illegal pornographic content in Telegram’s public groups is not a systemic problem. Our moderation is effective. The fact that attackers must resort to backdated, effectively invisible content and other technical tricks proves this.
⚠️ However, there are two important lessons here for app developers and online communities:
— Extortionists have found a way to manipulate Apple into overreacting. Apple removed Telegram from the App Store before contacting us. This creates a potential systemic risk for every mobile app that hosts user-generated content. If an app used by more than a billion people can be removed from the App Store without prior warning, any app can be.
— The tactics used by takedown extortionists are evolving, putting communities across social platforms at risk. Telegram has extensive experience identifying the tricks used by coordinated reporting gangs and protecting legitimate communities (even when doing so risks our own app being temporarily removed from the App Store). Other platforms may not be equally prepared.
Stay vigilant! ☝️
🐳 A whale has been shorting the crypto market ahead of Trump's crypto speech today.
So far, he has opened:
$27,951,000 in $BTC short
$6,400,000 in $ETH short
$5,800,000 in $HYPE short
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE
Over the past 13 years, Bitcoin has followed a consistent timing pattern in both bear and bull markets.
Bear markets last around 406 days
Bull markets last around 1,064 days
The current downtrend has lasted about 210 days so far, roughly halfway through the usual cycle.
This time might be different from what majority expects.
I’m him
I’m THE guy to call the stock market top to the exact day, on the day
I’m THE ONE who was to do it in the world
Im the fucking guy.
I’ll be the only one in the world to call it to the exact day.
Remember April 21, 2026.
THE US STOCK MARKET WILL TOP TODAY APRIL 21, 2026
I AM THE ONE PERSON TO CALL IT TO THE DAY
TO THE EXACT DAY
Love you all thank you for the future recognition as the one guy who called the exact top of the stock market to the day.
In 2011, this guy bought 10,000 Bitcoin for $7,805 when $BTC was at $0.78 cents.
14 years later, in October 2025 he sold it all for over $1 Billion at $109,246.
He survived 100s of crashes, 4 long and hard bear markets and then retired with a 140,000x return.