Skip to content
Search
Human content, AI powered search.

Latest Stories

What We're Watching

Telegram and X back down

Telegram and X back down

The Telegram logo.

Photo by Dima Solomin on Unsplash
Alex Kliment
By Alex KlimentSeptember 24, 2024
Alex Kliment

Alex wears a few different caps and tips them all regularly. He writes for the GZERO Daily, works as a field correspondent for GZERO's nationally syndicated TV show GZERO WORLD WITH IAN BREMMER, and writes/directs/voices GZERO's award-winning puppet satire show PUPPET REGIME. Prior to joining GZERO, Alex worked as an analyst covering Russia and broader Emerging Markets for Eurasia Group. He has also written for the Financial Times from Washington, DC, and Sao Paulo Brazil. In his spare time, he makes short films and composes scores for long ones. He studied history and Slavic literature at Columbia and has a Master's from Johns Hopkins SAIS. He's a native New Yorker, a long-suffering Mets fan, and owns too many bicycles.

See Full Bio
Make us preferred on Google

Score this one Nation-States 2, Tech Tycoons 0?

Pavel Durov, the CEO of the messaging app Telegram who was arrested recently in France on charges that his platform facilitated criminal activity and was refusing to help law enforcement investigate, has changed his tune.

After initially claiming it was “absurd” to hold a platform responsible for illicit content, Telegram now says it will share information with law enforcement “in response to valid legal requests.”

The about-face came just days after self-styled “free speech” crusader Elon Musk climbed down in his battle with Brazil. To refresh: Last month, Musk rejected a Brazilian court order for X to deactivate certain disinformation accounts, refused to pay relevant fines, removed X’s local legal rep, and launched a meme war against Brazil’s controversial disinformation czar.

As a result, X was banned outright in the 200-million-strong country, and that seems to have turned the tables. Now, the company is reportedly ready to take down the accounts, reappoint a rep in Brazil, and pay fines.

Depending on your politics, you may see all of this as a victory for the nation-state (nearly undefeated since the Peace of Westphalia, as GZERO’s Matt Kendrick points out) or as a hit to free speech and privacy. What’s your view? Share with us here.

brazildurovxlatin america-caribbeaneuropefrancetwittermuskscience-techtelegram

Latest Videos

Brazil’s left-wing president wins historic fourth termplay icon
Quick Take

Brazil’s left-wing president wins historic fourth term

Could US & Israeli elections reshape the Middle East?
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Could US & Israeli elections reshape the Middle East?

What would Netanyahu's electoral defeat mean for the Middle East?
GZERO World Clips

What would Netanyahu's electoral defeat mean for the Middle East?

In memory of Moose
ask ian

In memory of Moose

Trump's latest turn against Ukraine could be for good
The Debrief

Trump's latest turn against Ukraine could be for good

What a Democratic Congress would mean for Trump and the GOP
GZERO World Clips

What a Democratic Congress would mean for Trump and the GOP

More For You

Student protests get concessions in France, India and China’s dam battle, Bolsonaro ordered to remain in Brazil

Representatives of secondary school pupils organisations Les Lyceens vice-president Louis Letoublon (3rd L), Renouveau Lycee president Nathanael Combary (2nd R), Renouveau Lycee Monica-Shannon Ongmilan (L), and Bordeaux Academy representative to the National Council for High School Life Elliot Hostin (R), speak to the press as they leave the Hotel Matignon after a meeting with French Prime Minister on October 26, 2026

Representatives of secondary school pupils organisations Les Lyceens vice-president Louis Letoublon (3rd L), Renouveau Lycee president Nathanael Combary (2nd R), Renouveau Lycee Monica-Shannon Ongmilan (L), and Bordeaux Academy representative to the National Council for High School Life Elliot Hostin (R), speak to the press as they leave the Hotel Matignon after a meeting with French Prime Minister on October 26, 2026

Paoloni Jeremy/ABACA via Reuters Connect
France offers concessions to protestersAfter weeks of student-led protests over poor conditions in French schools, the government has promised to dedicate €4 billion ($4.5 billion) to school renovations, improve teaching, implement other education reforms, and to replace its controversial university admissions platform by 2028. But while [...]

Venezuela’s opposition leader finally returns, Students win big in Serbia election, Algeria to send troops to Niger

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters after travelling from Barquisimeto, where she made her first public appearance following her return to the country after nearly a year abroad, in Caracas, Venezuela, October 25, 2026.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters after travelling from Barquisimeto, where she made her first public appearance following her return to the country after nearly a year abroad, in Caracas, Venezuela, October 25, 2026.

REUTERS/Gaby Oraa
Venezuela’s leading opposition figure returns homeAfter ten months in exile, Maria Corina Machado is back in Venezuela. Until now she has been largely sidelined by the Trump administration, which ousted strongman Nicolás Maduro in January and installed his deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, instead. Machado wants elections by July, and polls show she is the [...]

Brazil’s presidential runoff, Serbia’s place-swapping election, Israel’s fresh West Bank crackdown

​Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro speaks during a presidential debate, ahead of the runoff presidential election, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 18, 2026.

Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro speaks during a presidential debate, ahead of the runoff presidential election, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, October 18, 2026.

REUTERS/Jean Carniel
Brazil finally decides: Lula or Bolsonaro?After a deeply polarizing campaign, Brazilian voters will finally go to the polls on Sunday to choose: left-wing incumbent Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, who has served three terms since 2002, or right-winger Flávio Bolsonaro, whose father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was jailed for plotting a coup. [...]

Turkey and Canada’s new friendship, El Salvador threatening Haitian gangs, North Korea’s petty propaganda push

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with an official ceremony in Ankara, Turkiye on October 22, 2026.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney with an official ceremony in Ankara, Turkiye on October 22, 2026.

Anadolu via Reuters Connect
Canada looks to Turkey for new partnershipCanadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is in Turkey on Thursday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The visit is the first by a Canadian prime minister to Turkey. The two leaders promptly announced a new “strategic partnership” focused on expanding cooperation in defense and energy — Erdogan is [...]