{"id":16764,"date":"2024-09-06T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-06T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/the-truth-about-durovgate-a-forklog-primer-in-conspiracy\/"},"modified":"2024-09-06T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-06T15:00:00","slug":"the-truth-about-durovgate-a-forklog-primer-in-conspiracy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/the-truth-about-durovgate-a-forklog-primer-in-conspiracy\/","title":{"rendered":"The truth about Durovgate: a ForkLog primer in conspiracy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Julia Vavilova, who accompanied Pavel Durov on his trip, is said to have helped engineer the billionaire\u2019s detention. She allegedly deliberately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-13785387\/Is-Telegram-boss-girlfriend-gave-away-location-Instagram.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">tagged her location<\/a> during the journey so that French law enforcement could track him.<\/p>\n<p>Media also reported the woman\u2019s supposed links to \u201cMossad,\u201d which allegedly tasked her with handing Durov over to Western security services. According to the Daily Mail, Vavilova accompanied the Telegram founder on trips to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n<p>Tired of the standard conspiracist toolkit in news about Durov, the ForkLog editorial team decided to devise its own theory of everything to explain the businessman\u2019s curious adventures\u2014and more. <\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-text-wrappers-disclamer article_disclamer\"><span class=\"gtb_text-wrappers_disclamer_head\">Disclaimer<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>This material is satirical and does not seek to spread disinformation. Any resemblance to reality is a coincidence\u2014of which life has many.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cIt\u2019s a stitch-up\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Alexey Bykov (ForkLog, news desk):<\/strong> It\u2019s a stitch-up. Here\u2019s the case. Durov was desperately short of money to meet Gram investors\u2019 claims. Magically, he found it. In Russia. <\/p>\n<p>The budget there is not in the best of health, and he was asked (told) to repay the debt. <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/financial-times-reveals-telegrams-financial-losses\">\u0414\u0435\u043d\u0435\u0433 \u043d\u0435\u0442<\/a>, awkward. In this situation he needed a new protector (not the FSB). <\/p>\n<p>France looks acceptable: the US in a presidential election year is not the best move, Britain is too bound to America, Germany is a revolving door for Russian intelligence. And it hardly matters what Durov gives up (he is no saint); he has secured refuge in a civilised country\u2014and then we shall see.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conspiracy theory: an assembly kit<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Eduard Brukherizmo (ForkLog, longreads):<\/strong> I fully agree with my colleague, but would add a few refinements to turn the hunch into a full-fledged conspiracy theory. Start by recalling how any good piece of disinformation is organised: that ordinary people are being led by the nose by a small cabal (Masons, spooks, the \u201cCommittee of 300,\u201d anthropomorphic reptiles, <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/satoshi-nakamotos-flying-circus-ten-cringe-makers-from-a-decade-in-crypto\">attendees of the Bitcoin Miami conference<\/a>; they go by many names).<\/p>\n<p>Conspiracy scholars Nikolai Sainakov and Ilya Yablokov <a href=\"https:\/\/www1.ku.de\/ZIMOS\/forum\/docs\/forumruss15\/8Yablokov.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">identify<\/a> the following hallmarks of a marginal hypothesis:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>heightened sensationalism;<\/li>\n<li>the zeal of refutation;<\/li>\n<li>radicalism;<\/li>\n<li>the presence of explicit, unconditional premises;<\/li>\n<li>rejection by specialists.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is easiest to grasp with a popular example\u2014the flat-Earth theory\u2014by summarising it in five points:<\/p>\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sensationalism. <\/strong>\u201cShock! A new study has confirmed the flat Earth theory.\u201d <\/li>\n<li><strong>The zeal of refutation.<\/strong> \u201cFrom school we were lied to that our planet is a sphere. Now I will debunk this global lie point by point, using their own physics textbook for grades 10\u201311.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Radicalism.<\/strong> \u201cRound-earthers are idiots; without them the world will be much better.\u201d <\/li>\n<li><strong>False syllogisms (unquestioned premises).<\/strong> \u201cAsk any sailor what is used for navigation on a ship and he will say: flat charts. If the Earth were a sphere, ship crews would navigate by a globe.\u201d <\/li>\n<li><strong>Rejection by specialists. <\/strong>If required, official science will explain the position clearly to you\u2014even ChatGPT.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Now we can return to the mysterious story of Pavel Durov\u2019s arrest to finally grasp \u201cthe whole truth\u201d about the incident. <\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cPolyphemus-258\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>In my colleague\u2019s version, the head of Telegram cut a deal with the authorities in exchange for refuge in a country he deems safe (that he is already a French citizen we set aside). The thesis \u201cDurov sent himself to prison\u201d is sufficiently <em>sensational<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>Moreover, blaming the victim is the best strategy if you want to catch the eye of a target audience predisposed to think that \u201cit\u2019s not that simple\u201d and \u201cowls are not what they seem.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>If you like, we can add beneficiaries beyond the obvious Durov. Let these be some \u201cFrench elites,\u201d for example President Emmanuel Macron. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"ru\" dir=\"ltr\">Why is Macron using a messenger for pedophiles and terrorists\u2014is he a pedophile and a terrorist? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iRUS5N5Q9x\">pic.twitter.com\/iRUS5N5Q9x<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \u0410\u043d\u0434\u0440\u0435\u0439 \u041f\u043b\u0435\u0448\u0430\u043a\u043e\u0432 (@andreywhitily) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/andreywhitily\/status\/1827683872919650772?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 25, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Now we must urgently <em>refute<\/em> something. Take an undisputed fact: for instance, that Durov has been <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/pavel-durov-placed-under-judicial-supervision-with-e5-million-bail\">released on bail<\/a> and is under judicial supervision. <\/p>\n<p>Two options follow. First: the head of Telegram remains in a black site; a <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/lingo-telecom-fined-1-million-for-biden-deepfake-incident\">deepfake<\/a> \u201cwalked out\u201d in his stead, and Durov\u2019s social posts are written and published by the French services. <\/p>\n<p>Second: the businessman is not in France at all. In exchange for freedom (and life), he was moved to one of the republic\u2019s overseas territories\u2014say, New Caledonia. There he is using his knowledge for total surveillance of local separatists under project \u201cPolyphemus-258\u201d (secret services and orders love all things Greek). Macron is already negotiating with counterparts in China, Russia and the US, choosing whom to sell the end product to, whose name encodes the square root of 666. <\/p>\n<p>Whichever option you pick, launch the hashtag #WhereIsPavel to spread the conspiracy, find fellow travellers, mobilise the community. To sustain interest you can even provoke spats between those who believe in a black site and those preparing an expedition to New Caledonia. Sooner or later one camp will <em>radicalise<\/em> of its own accord, start spamming aggressive memes, get banned on Telegram for it and thus believe in its own truth all the more.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u201cFeed Rurov\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>False syllogisms? ChatGPT will oblige; experts say artificial intelligence is taking the manufacture of fakes to a <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/fakes-deepfakes-and-chatbots-how-to-spot-ai-manipulation-online\">qualitatively new level<\/a>. After a few leading questions about the hashtag <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/support-for-pavel-durovs-release-garners-2-5-million-signatures\">#FreeDurov<\/a>, the chatbot offered this guess:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThe words \u2018FreeDurov\u2019 can be considered as an anagram. For example, \u2018Feed Rurov\u2019 (which can be interpreted as \u2018feed Rurov\u2019).\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>How <a href=\"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/news\/sam-altman-envisions-ai-agents-as-the-next-big-thing\">right<\/a> Sam Altman is. It remains to identify this mysterious Rurov. That is easy; no ChatGPT required. Obviously, it is a nod to the play R.U.R. (1920) by the Czech writer Karel \u010capek, in which the word \u201crobot\u201d first appeared. <\/p>\n<p>Thus, via the hashtag the conspirators passed to one another, in cipher, an instruction to feed the machine. This can be read as a call to \u201cfeed AI\u201d with big data\u2014and what is Telegram users\u2019 correspondence if not Big Data?<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, the \u201c-ov\u201d ending and the author\u2019s nationality point to the traditionally Slavic lands\u2014namely, Czechia. Here one should watch the news closely, awaiting the moment that confirms the theory that the Durovgate participants are feeding a robot Moloch in central Prague. <\/p>\n<p>Or recall the historical region in Czechia called Bohemia. Conspiracy fans have already guessed that all roads lead to <a href=\"https:\/\/ru.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/%D0%91%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%89%D0%B0\">Bohemian Grove<\/a>\u2014the place where American elites gather under the strictest secrecy.<\/p>\n<p>Now it all fits: Durov himself flew to the cradle of Freemasonry to distract reporters <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.googleapis.com\/istories\/news\/2024\/08\/27\/pavel-durov-priezzhal-v-rossiyu-bolee-50-raz-s-momenta-izgnaniya-v-2014-m\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">tracking<\/a> his movements. Armed with a cast-iron alibi, he set off for Bohemian Grove, where an initiation rite into a secret order of crypto-Illuminati awaits. <\/p>\n<p>At the ceremony he will solemnly hand the High Priest the Telegram encryption keys so the elites can read all your correspondence and use it to hasten artificial general intelligence (AGI). And, of course, the end of the world.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Telegram\u2019s founder, Pavel Durov, is at liberty and awaits a bloody initiation rite at Bohemian Grove. All messenger user data will be fed to a cybernetic Moloch with AGI. <\/p>\n<p>As expected, modern language models can serve as aides to the aspiring conspiracist. Always verify information carefully, especially anything \u201csensational.\u201d  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Julia Vavilova, who accompanied Pavel Durov on his trip, is said to have helped engineer the billionaire\u2019s detention. She allegedly deliberately tagged her location during the journey so that French law enforcement could track him. Media also reported the woman\u2019s supposed links to \u201cMossad,\u201d which allegedly tasked her with handing Durov over to Western security [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"select":"","news_style_id":"","cryptorium_level":"","_short_excerpt_text":"","creation_source":"","_metatest_mainpost_news_update":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1144],"tags":[438,1423,723,1361],"class_list":["post-16764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-longreads","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-pavel-durov","tag-telegram","tag-virtual-world-innovations"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"views":"32","promo_type":"","layout_type":"","short_excerpt":"","is_update":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forklog.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}