If you thought France was behind the Telegram founder’s arrest, think again—that’s just half the story.

Censorship expert Mike Benz believes the U.S. State Department is the REAL force behind the scenes.

Benz says the government’s goal isn’t to destroy Telegram but to reshape it into something more like WhatsApp—something they can control.

"Telegram is a double-edged sword for the U.S. government. On one hand, it’s been a vital tool for the State Department in organizing protests and destabilizing governments, like in Belarus in 2020. But on the other hand, they don't have the control they want over it."

He continued, "The U.S. State Department pressured Brazil to bring Telegram to its knees in 2022, essentially forcing them to comply with new counter-misinformation laws. The goal isn't to shut Telegram down—they want to control it, just like they did with WhatsApp. The State Department doesn’t want to destroy Telegram, but rather to turn it into something they can bend to their will."

So what is the goal of arresting Telegram founder Pavel Durov? Benz says it's to break his will.

“They didn’t have the ability to put sufficient pressure on Pavel to break his will. So he was living in Dubai. Now they have leverage. I believe that’s the purpose of this prosecution.”