Deutsche Welle :
Iran 2017-2018: Protests break out in the city of Mashhad – calling out corruption, mismanagement and rising food prices. Within days the protests spread to a dozen other cities and rural communities across the country. The government in Tehran has difficulty getting them under control.
Thailand 2020: Resistance to the military regime of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha grows at universities across the country after being started by an opposition party. The protests quickly pick up steam, eventually leading to a “state of emergency.”
Belarus 2020: Presidential elections are slated to take place in a country run for decades by an autocrat. Dictator Alexander Lukashenko’s announces he has won reelection in the vote. Months of mass demonstrations ensue.
All of these, as well as other protests have one thing in common: They were largely organized on Telegram.
Anonymous accounts, unlimited chat group sizes
The messaging service has become one of the most popular in the world since it was co-founded by Pavel Durov – who is currently in detention in Paris – in 2013.
More than 900 million people use Telegram, which boasts that it regulates content much less strictly than other messaging services. The app also works when the internet is operating at extremely slow speeds – like when governments attempt to choke usage.