The Durov Delusion

Pavel Durov was detained by French authorities.
French authorities revealed that they had detained Pavel Durov as part of a broader investigation into all the dark, nasty stuff that is allegedly coordinated on Telegram’s largely unmoderated platform. Photo: Steve Jennings/Getty Images
Julia Ioffe
August 28, 2024

Over the weekend, French authorities arrested Pavel Durov, founder of the popular messaging app Telegram. Durov, a Russian tech entrepreneur and billionaire who is part Neo from The Matrix (in his fashion choices) and part Elon Musk (in his mission to impregnate as many women as possible with his ubersperm), had flown into Paris on his personal jet from Azerbaijan, apparently without the foresight that he might be taken into custody. On Monday, French authorities revealed that they had detained him as part of a broader investigation into all the dark, nasty stuff that is allegedly coordinated on Telegram’s largely unmoderated platform—drug trafficking, child pornography, money laundering, and other criminal activity—and Durov’s refusal to cooperate with that investigation.