Anti-Israel protesters bring encrypted messaging tool from campuses to Chicago

Pro-Palestinian protesters are using an encrypted messaging app that was central to organizing campus protests to coordinate at the Democratic National Convention.

Telegram, an encrypted messaging app produced by two Russian programmers, is exceedingly popular worldwide, recently reaching 1 billion downloads. One of its key features is its end-to-end encryption, making it ideal for military and dissident coordination — among its many users are Hezbollah and Hamas. It has proven its effectiveness during anti-Israel campus protests since Oct. 7, allowing protesters to coordinate. The app is being used once again for pro-Palestinian protests at the DNC.

The channel Palestine Action U.S. spread a schedule from Samidoun, a “Palestinian Solidarity Network,” for training and educational classes the week ahead of the DNC in preparation, including a “workshop” presumably training attendees in protest tactics.

The schedule and call to “Shut Down the DNC” was shared by a controversial channel called the “Resistance News Network,” which explicitly promotes organizations with a U.S. terrorist designation, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Samidoun sent out a call to protest the DNC, setting the time at 7 p.m. on Aug. 20.

“Whether it’s Genocide Joe, or Killer Kamala, the butchers of Gaza cannot be allowed to gather in Chicago undisturbed,” a post on the organization’s website read.

“In August, the DNC, the Death and Nakba Coronation, will attempt to put a cherry on top of this genocide,” it continued. “They’ll trot out the ‘progressive’ politicians who happily sell out the Palestinians for empty promises to restore the legitimacy of the empire that they head. It’s up to us to shatter that image and make it clear that the DNC is a genocide convention and that people in Chicago and beyond stand with Palestine and against U.S. imperialism.”

The accompanying poster shared with followers read, “Make it great like ’68! Shut down the DNC for Gaza!”

For months, pro-Palestinian groups have been planning to create a situation reminiscent of the Chicago 1968 DNC, during which the Democratic Party was dealt a major blow to its prestige amid massive riots from anti-Vietnam War demonstrators. The chaos has been partially credited with Richard Nixon’s victory later that year. Some pro-Palestinian groups aim to create similar chaos to pressure the Democratic Party to change its position on the war in Gaza.

The ability of Telegram channels to spread information quickly and coordinate could prove decisive in creating disruptive protests, allowing more effective coordination than in 1968.