A BBC investigation has found that nude photos of women were widely shared on the social media app Telegram without their consent.
In a split second, Sara found out that a nude photo of her had been leaked and shared on Telegram, her life changed. Her Instagram and Facebook profiles have been added and her phone number added. Suddenly she was contacted by unknown men asking for more pictures.
“They made me feel like a prostitute because [they believed] I had shared intimate pictures of myself. That meant I had no value as a woman,” she says.
Telegram has long been popular with pro-democracy protesters in countries with media censorship. Users can post without sharing their name or phone number and create public or private groups with up to 200,000 members or channels that can broadcast to an unlimited number of people.
The company declined to be interviewed by the BBC but said in a statement it proactively monitors public spaces and processes user reports of content that violates its terms of service.
Telegram has not confirmed whether posting intimate pictures of people without consent is allowed on the platform or whether they will be removed.
Watch an extended version of this video youtube and the full documentation BBC iPlayer.
Investigation by the BBC World Service disinformation team.
Producers: Hannah Gelbart, Jack Goodman, Juliana Gragnani, Maria Korenyuk and Lucy Swinnen. Film editing: Shayma Alyssi. Disinformation Editor: Rebecca Skippage.
Voiced by: Hannah Gelbart.
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