The swarms of terrorist activity on Telegram are by now well documented.

That hardly makes it unique among encrypted messaging apps. The company relies entirely on users to flag problems, an action that doesn't always guarantee results. Even as larger tech companies like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter have faced years of congressional interrogation and public pressure over how they filter similar content, Zello has dedicated limited resources to this type of moderation. The list wasn't comprehensive, and didn't reference any specifically troubling conversations it was just a snapshot of accounts and channels MEMRI found easily at the time.ĭespite these signals, the Austin-based company has apparently taken a largely passive stance toward policing terrorist-affiliated public channels and accounts. While MEMRI hadn't collected actual messages, its findings included screenshots of Zello users whose avatars featured photos of ISIS’s iconic black flags, and public channels with names like “Islamic State Channel.” One channel called simply “Jihad.” described itself this way: “For the Brothers who desire to be with Mujahideen & to talk about Jihad and Islam.” Some of the channels had been advertised by ISIS sympathizers on another encrypted app, Telegram. Hours later, MEMRI deputy director Elliot Zweig sent him the report. “Can you share a copy of the report explaining ISIS uses Zello? I'm the CEO of Zello,” the message read, according to emails reviewed by WIRED and confirmed by Moore and MEMRI. Moore had learned about the findings through a Google Alert.

He was seeking a copy of a report MEMRI had recently published describing how ISIS members and supporters were using Zello, which allows people to send voice messages to each other in private and also public channels. In the early morning of September 9, 2016, Bill Moore, CEO of the Austin-based walkie-talkie app company Zello, contacted the Middle East Media Research Institute.

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