Anonymous and official Telegram channels in Ukraine: analysis of popularity during the hybrid war

This study examines Telegram channels popular among Ukrainian users, highlighting the platform’s expanding role in hybrid warfare. Telegram is increasingly replacing traditional media, functioning both as a news source and a content hub, and often disseminating propaganda through anonymous accounts. The research aims to assess Telegram’s impact on Ukraine’s media landscape by analyzing the presence and persistence of official, anonymous, and propaganda channels in top popularity rankings. The methodology includes a critical review of sources, 14 weeks of monitoring (June–September 2024) using Telemetrio and Tgstat, and statistical analysis via Pivot Tables. The results show that anonymous channels are the most consistently present, propaganda channels rank high in audience reach, while official and traditional media sources appear infrequently or are absent altogether. These findings support the hypothesis that unregulated sources dominate Ukraine’s digital information space, underscoring the need for a robust national information security strategy and more rigorous monitoring of Telegram during wartime.