The US government and its Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) utilize the social media platform Telegram to instigate riots and protest movements against international governments it deems undesirable, former US State Department official Mike Benz said in an interview with Tucker Carlson on Wednesday.

Benz, who served under the Trump administration and is currently a free speech activist at the Foundation for Freedom Online, was asked by the American journalist about potential US involvement in the recent arrest of Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov in France earlier this week.

The former diplomat did not provide a direct answer to the question however, he noted that Durov's arrest aligned with "soft power" tactics the US has used in the past.

Was the Biden administration involved in the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov? Mike Benz explains.

(1:20) Who Was Involved in Pavel Durov’s Arrest?
(15:50) How Telegram Is Used by the CIA
(27:22) Domestic Policy Doesn’t Exist
(34:19) The Redefining of Democracy
(39:21) The… pic.twitter.com/cmgWWCIIpw

— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) August 28, 2024

Telegram as a tool to carry out US political operations across the globe

The US has been a chief advocate of "free speech" for decades "in large part" because it enabled the country to instigate riots and political or paramilitary operations "in countries where the US State Department seeks political control," Benz said, adding that Telegram's end-to-end encryption has played a vital role in these efforts.

"26 US-government-funded NGOs" denounced Russia's attempt to ban the instant messaging application in 2018 since it was being used by the US State Department for its encryption and local popularity "to foment protests and riots within Russia – just as they did in Belarus, Iran, Hong Kong, and attempted to do in China," Benz told Carlson.

The former US official added that Telegram's encryption serves as a powerful feature of evading state control over media while enabling "US-funded political groups or dissidents to garner tens of thousands of supporters with relative impunity."

Benz stated that Telegram was the US' "main channel" for "effectively orchestrating a color revolution in Belarus" in 2020. He noted that "The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) was actually paying the main administrators of the Telegram channels that orchestrated those riots," adding that the NED was "one of the most prolific CIA cutouts in the arsenal."

The free speech activist highlighted that this practice is part of a long-running campaign used by the US, UK, and its NATO alliances in an attempt to gain political control over Russia's territories and resources.

Benz described Telegram as "the darling of the CIA, the State Department, and USAID" for allowing the orchestration of international political operations by the US due to its easy access for recruitment for the platform's billion users. 

Telegram CEO charged for ‘allowing criminal activity’ on app

The French judiciary charged Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, of allegedly allowing criminal activity on the messaging app, setting his bail at €5 million, AFP reported on Wednesday.

The Russian-born billionaire, also a French citizen, was released under the condition that he report to a police station twice a week and stay within France, as stated by Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau. Durov is accused of being complicit in the spread of child pornography, along with various other alleged offenses, on the messaging platform.

On Saturday, the 39-year-old was detained at Le Bourget airport, near Paris, under suspicion of failing to prevent illegal content on the platform, including the exchange of child sexual imagery, drug trafficking, and fraud.

His unexpected arrest has drawn attention to the criminal liability of Telegram, a popular app with approximately 1 billion users, and has ignited a debate over free speech and government censorship.