Russia: Telegram to ban channels inciting anti-Semitic violence following airport rampage
On Sunday, October 29, 2023, hundreds of protesters forcefully entered an airport in Dagestan, Russia, in search of passengers arriving on a flight from Tel Aviv, Israel. The violent, anti-Semitic rampage was allegedly incited by the Telegram channel 'Morning Dagestan,' which had alerted its thousands of followers to the scheduled arrival from Tel Aviv over the weekend.
The Telegram channel allegedly posted detailed instructions for harassing passengers from Israel, including anti-Semitic messages. However, the crowd at the airport went beyond the channel's instructions, breaching security cordons and storming the facility, resulting in injuries to at least 20 people.
Following the allegations of the facilitation of the anti-Semitic rampage by Telegram, the messaging app company announced a ban on channels that incite anti-Semitic riots in Dagestan.