As Meduza discovered, a series of articles with similar titles appeared in Russian regional media stating that Russians should delete Telegram from their phones by March 31, 2026. Meanwhile, the pro-Kremlin tabloid Baza published an article saying Russian iPhones overheat and fail due to a VPN. All this is happening against the backdrop of a slow, but seemingly irreversible, blocking of the messenger. Participation in the fact-checking project “Verified” We have reviewed these publications.
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How do articles explain why users should delete Telegram?
In the last days of publication from Kirov, Lipetsk, Samara, Yoshkar Oli, Chelyabinsk Other Russian cities published articles with the same content with titles such as “Experts warn: It is better to delete Telegram before March 31.”
The authors of these materials insist: if this is not done before the end of the month, the use of the messenger will become unsafe.
For example, “Kuban News” He explains It’s like this:
Lawyers and cybersecurity experts are sounding the alarm: The accumulation of confidential information, such as passwords, banking details and work documents, in instant messaging conversations can lead to serious consequences. Many Russian companies are also reviewing their internal policies for using foreign services, and abandoning them. So It makes sense to urgently clean your smartphones before March 31.
The names of experts providing such advice were not mentioned in the notes. There are also no explanations about the source of this date – March 31. Meanwhile, at the end of February Red blood cells and The bell Citing sources, it is reported that the authorities want to completely ban Telegram by April 1 – and as a result, the ban began several weeks ago.
These posts are accompanied by vague threats about “serious consequences.” Absolutely sound advice On basic cybersecurity.
Judging by the similar composition, identical recommendations and partial overlap of arguments, all these articles in the regional press are reviews. Noteswas published on the night of February 11 on the website of the Far Eastern electronic magazine PrimPress.
A few hours before PrimPress published RBC I mentionedThat Roskomnadzor began “restricting the work of Telegram.”
In the first post, PrimPress advised deleting Telegram and WhatsApp not by March 31, but “before March,” and gave three arguments:
- Due to “increasing regulatory pressure”, large instant messengers may be blocked – users will face “freezes, problems with message delivery, interruptions in functionality and the need to hastily change their usual communication channels”;
- Phishing links are sent via instant messengers and data is stolen, and “removing unused services before the start of the active spring shopping and travel season reduces the chances of falling into scammers’ traps”;
- Photos, videos, files and voice messages sent via instant messengers “clog up the phone’s memory” – and “before spring, when you shoot, travel and use mobility more, it makes sense to delete unnecessary messengers or at least radically clean them.”
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March 18 Prempress Released Revised version of the article, which took into account new introductions regarding the Telegram ban that has already begun. The “spring active shopping and travel season” is no longer mentioned in the new text, but basic cybersecurity advice remains.
At the end of the article, the author said:
Deleting the messenger is not the only option, but it is a good reason to clean up the mess. <…> The main thing is to be aware of what information you trust in any digital service.
This text was later retold by other regional media outlets, some of which referred directly to PrimPress.
It is interesting that in these publications readers are not invited to switch to the “national” Max messenger. It is actively promoted by Russian authorities and has already been caught in potential user surveillance (the Russians are very skeptical). Includes To this competing telegram).
The arguments in these articles seem somewhat unconvincing. That is, there is no need to delete the telegrams?
No need. The arguments presented in these articles have no legal or technical justification. It can be assumed that these materials are designed for inexperienced Telegram users and are trying to manipulate their fears.
The main source of similar materials, PrimPress, is linked to regional authorities. According to the SPARK database, this post belongs to Viktor Staritsyn, dating back to 2019 become Advisor to the regional governor Oleg Kozhemyako. The above Kuban news belongs to the regional administration.
In other cases, it is difficult to trace the same clear links between the authorities and the media that publish calls to delete Telegram. But, for example, a media publisher from Yoshkar-Ola He does not hide Their pro-government views and Chelyabinsk publication It illuminates Almost exclusively the work of the local legislature.
The repeated publication of similar materials in media controlled by or loyal to regional authorities appears to be an intentional campaign to discredit Telegram, which complements the blocking in Russia.
The same goal appears to be pursued by the pro-Kremlin tabloid Baza (despite the fact that its main media outlet is the Telegram channel), in the fall of 2025. Absorb it The media empire of Putin’s friend Yuri Kovalchuk. This post was published on March 24 condition That the Russians’ iPhones overheat and fail due to the fact that the VPNs installed on the phones “overload the processor.”
The explanation of the problem in the material turns out to be very complicated:
The main issue now is charging the phone overnight with VPN enabled. Previously, most Russians browsed the banned program before going to bed (This refers to Instagram, which was blocked in the Russian Federation in March 2022 – approx. “Jellyfish”), then I turned off the services to bypass the block, charged the phone and went to bed. It has now become popular to leave everything in good order, so as not to miss a possible “important message” in the messenger from relatives or management.
There will likely be more of this content in pro-government media in the coming weeks. If you know your loved ones might take these posts seriously, please talk to them about why a VPN is so safe.
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