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Author calls Pavel Durov a “giga larp” who “deserves no sympathy,” while…

2026-07-30 · 18:45 UTC ·@0xdasha ·0 min read

Brief

The author attacks Pavel Durov personally yet argues policy nuance matters: withholding channels to comply with local law is different from deleting them, and Telegram can restrict Ukrainian channels inside Russia without removing them globally. They also highlight Durov’s claim that Russia has labeled him a “terrorist” and banned him from publishing online for resisting surveillance and censorship.

Why it matters

Author calls Pavel Durov a “giga larp” who “deserves no sympathy,” while criticizing a network they call the “insufferable zigger network” as overreacting.

Key details

  • Author insists that complying with local laws by withholding channels is not the same as deleting them, claiming Telegram can (and likely does) withhold Ukrainian channels for Russian users.
  • Author quotes Pavel Durov’s tweet: Russia has designated him a “terrorist” for refusing mass surveillance and censorship, and under Russian law he’s banned from “publishing information on the Internet.”
Source evidence

pavel is a giga larp and deserves no sympathy, but the insufferable zigger network is completely off the rails here. complying to local laws by withholding channels is absolutely NOT the same as deleting them. they can withhold ukrainian channels in russia, and probably do

Pavel Durov (@durov)

Russia has designated me as a “terrorist” for refusing its demands for mass surveillance and censorship on Telegram.

Under Russian law, I’m banned from “publishing information on the Internet” 😌

Russian officials are clearly confused about who can ban whom from the Internet 😉

— https://nitter.net/durov/status/2082872046229283046#m