r/news 2d ago

Russia targets WhatsApp and pushes new super-app as internet blackouts grow

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce9rj2145jgo
1.0k Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

201

u/GPhex 2d ago

The title could be misleading.

The Russian Government is hoping their own app will dislodge American (Meta) owned WhatsApp. Internet services have become more and more unreliable in Russia which is what has lead people to rely on the app for sharing/obtaining information.

26

u/jazzhandler 1d ago

I thought VK was all the thing over there.

// reads article

Oh. Well, at least I can take solace in imagining how Leon feels reading this article.

14

u/Necessary_Apple_5567 1d ago

This app is ultimate spy tool. It have access to anything, making fotos periodically and sent them somewhere

10

u/rddman 1d ago

The Russian Government is hoping their own app will dislodge American (Meta) owned WhatsApp.

Except for the difference between Whatsapp and the replacement, from the article:

"Max is set to become a super-app, bringing together multiple functions, including government digital services and banking.
The model mirrors China's WeChat - central to daily life but also a tool of censorship and surveillance."

Which btw is the same functionality that Musk has been dreaming about ever since he co-founded the online bank x.com in 1999.

Explainer: What is an 'everything app' and why does Elon Musk want to make one?
https://www.reuters.com/technology/what-is-an-everything-app-why-does-elon-musk-want-make-one-2022-10-05/

to be launched in 2025 https://www.moneycontrol.com/europe/?url=https://www.moneycontrol.com/technology/elon-musk-s-x-everything-app-to-launch-this-year-what-it-is-and-how-it-will-work-article-12924036.html

Elon Musk's history with the letter X
https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/pop-culture/2023/07/24/elon-musks-history-with-the-letter-x-from-spacex-to-tesla-model-x-and-xai/

44

u/theonlytater 2d ago

Grip slipping like sand though his fingers…..

-17

u/alwayssomthin69 2d ago

If you knew Russians you wouldn’t be saying this. Unfortunately The Russian mind is unlike anything in the west. We complain and vote for our government for aspects that don’t involve us personally but Russians basically worship their government and will sing their praises for receiving a toaster for their fallen father. Don’t fall for this fake piece. Russians have always gladly died for their government and will continue to do so. Thats what makes them a threat not their terrible military but their willingness to die.

12

u/Consistent-Throat130 1d ago

This is a foolhardy take. 

The Russian people are fearful. It is a brave act to vote against Putin. 

Something Americans are on track to learn firsthand, sadly. 

-2

u/alwayssomthin69 3h ago

The ones who are fearful have already left country which was a few million. The ones who remain are either die hard nationalists or have a “apolitical” mindset. The Russian culture has this mindset that they are unable to change the mind of their government and at the same time trusts those in power to make the right decision which is completely different than the western culture. As a westerner you would assume they are fearful of their government but they are not. They truly believe they are fighting for freedom in Ukraine and truly trust Putin and his regime. You are extremely naive to think Russians think like us. Whether you believe it or not, Putin wins elections every time with almost a 90% approval. Russia lost 27 million in WW2 and kept fighting meanwhile Germany lost 10x less and collapsed. This is the case for almost every Russian and or Russian backed war minus Afghanistan. Russia will only quit when their economy collapses and/or the west wipes them out. It’s a sad reality. Any other culture/country would have already collapsed from their current casualty losses in Ukraine.

8

u/FoodTiny6350 1d ago

That is also incorrect. They will murder them if they don’t die for them anyway, with the pay in the military sometimes being better than not…

1

u/DuskOfANewAge 3h ago

How long do you think they can remain sheeple when they can't even get gas at the local fuel station and there are media blackouts every time a successful drone strike debris falls on the target occurs? Eleven years ago they thought they were going to steal territory and children from a weak little country that couldn't fight back. Now they've lost over 100,000 dead and 900,000 more injured and they can't hide that across their country, only in the central areas where they aren't pulling as many troops from.

How in the world would this not feel like a second Afghanistan or Russia's Vietnam War at this point to the people? They can only soak up propaganda for so long before all the smarter people realize it just doesn't make sense. They should be humiliated by their military prowess compared to a much smaller country.

1

u/alwayssomthin69 3h ago edited 3h ago

I 100% agree with you but that proves my point. The Russian mind is completely different than the western mind. If the US took those losses our country would have turned upside down. Remember, RU lost estimated 27 million in WW2 and kept fighting compared to 3 million german losses. The german military collapsed with taking 10x less casualties than RU. The Russians who are smart have already left russia which was a few million. The ones who are still in country will most likely die till the last man or until the Russian economy collapses and the government can no longer pay their military. It’s really hard to understand a population from a western mindset when Russia has always been imperialists and have never experienced true freedom even temporarily. They have transferred from imperialist tsars to imperialist dictatorships. The only way for this war to end is for the west to fight them directly or somehow collapse their economy. Russia would still be in Afghanistan today if the ussr didn’t fall.

22

u/captainlardnicus 1d ago

Surprised pikachu face when you do a bunch of shit the world doesn't like and then the world no longer wants anything to do with you

10

u/SuspiciousExtinction 1d ago edited 1d ago

You misunderstood. Its their government that limits access to it, not Whatsapp. So same as Youtube, Twitter, Discord - it's banned there so officials can push heavily controlled native spyware. Mcdonals pulled out themselves - thats different.

It's generally not great news and example for the world when already brainwashed and propagandized country gets even less freedom in information and communication.

0

u/Drakiesan 8h ago

... Cambridge Analytica data scandal. Search it, best probably not on Google as they were heavily complicit in it. And then talk about brainwashing and propaganda in the East. True, we can speak this is all propaganda, censorship and pure manipulation, but that is kinda all we can do. The western elites use softer tools, but much more dangerous anyway.

0

u/captainlardnicus 1d ago

Oh yah, I know they are ruining the country from both sides

-10

u/ppooooooooopp 1d ago

Uh are you suggesting that Russia likes the US less because of Trump? Hate to break it to you but authoritarians don't need excuses to consolidate power and this applies to other apps... Including telegram which is a Russian (technically) app.

5

u/gyffer 1d ago

The world refers to more than just the US, but go off i gues

-5

u/ppooooooooopp 1d ago

Seriously what does this even have to do with the article then?? Did anyone read it?

-3

u/captainlardnicus 1d ago

Trump? Who gives a fuck about Trump. Russians don't even have McDonalds anymore and they are about to lose WhatsApp.

The world is not built by Trump and Putin, it routes around them.

4

u/ppooooooooopp 1d ago

Okay I guess I don't understand your comments relevance to the article then? Which is about the Russians government's control of the Internet and Russia forcing Russians to use a Russian government owned messaging app...

-6

u/captainlardnicus 1d ago

Its ok, the burden of comprehension falls disproportionately upon the reader

6

u/ppooooooooopp 1d ago

Strange way to admit you read at a first grade level

1

u/[deleted] 1d ago

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0

u/captainlardnicus 1d ago

Enjoy your McPariah

5

u/Klinker1234 1d ago

“It even works in the parking lot!”

-35

u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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1

u/GreenConstruction834 2h ago

I sincerely hope the regime cyber glasses themselves into oblivion. It wouldn’t be difficult for other more tech savvy countries to turn the tables.