Telegram’s ad program launched in March 2024 promised creators a simple deal: post content, get views, earn money. For news channels with 1,000 subscribers or more, Telegram pays out 50% of ad revenue - more than YouTube, Facebook, or X. But there’s a catch. The system doesn’t care if your story is true. It only cares how many times it’s viewed.
Why Telegram’s Ad Model Is Built for Clicks, Not Truth
Telegram pays creators based on one metric: view count. No watch time. No engagement quality. No fact-checking. Just how many people opened your post. That’s it.
Compare that to YouTube, which requires 4,000 watch hours and 1,000 subscribers before you can monetize. Or Facebook, which looks at consistent engagement and community feedback. Telegram doesn’t. You can have a channel with 1,000 followers and start earning the moment you turn on monetization. No training. No editorial review. No ethics checklist.
And here’s the kicker: ads are served based on the topic of your channel, not the quality of your reporting. A channel that posts verified, slow-burn investigative journalism gets the same ad rates as one that slaps ‘SHOCKING’ and ‘URGENT’ on a half-truth about a local election. Both get paid the same. The only difference? The sensational one gets more views.
The Money Is in the Emotion, Not the Facts
When your income depends on views, you start optimizing for views. That means headlines like:
- "BREAKING: Mayor Secretly Funds Drug Ring - Proof Inside!"
- "They’re Lying to You: This One Video Proves the Government Is Hiding Something"
- "JUST LEAKED: The Real Reason Schools Are Closing Tomorrow"
These aren’t made up. They’re real headlines from monetized Telegram news channels, documented by Reddit moderators and researchers at DisinfoLab. One channel owner, who goes by ‘CryptoInsider’ in private chats, admitted: "I doubled my revenue by adding words like ‘URGENT’ and ‘SHOCKING’ to headlines - even when the story didn’t warrant it. The algorithm rewards views, not truth."
And it works. Channels that switched to emotionally charged, vague, or fear-based headlines saw view counts jump 30-50%. Revenue followed. Meanwhile, credible outlets like Bellingcat - known for deep investigative work - saw only a 15-20% increase. Why? Because their stories don’t trigger the same panic response. People don’t click on "Government Report Confirms Climate Trends" the way they do on "SECRET DOCUMENTS EXPOSE CLIMATE HOAX."
How Toncoin Makes It Worse
Telegram pays in Toncoin, a cryptocurrency tied to the TON blockchain. That sounds techy and cool - until you realize what it means in practice.
First, Toncoin’s value swings wildly. In early 2024, it ranged from $0.05 to $0.30. A creator earning 10,000 Toncoin one month might see their earnings drop by 70% the next. That kind of uncertainty pushes people to chase quick wins - viral posts that spike views now, even if they’re false.
Second, Toncoin lets creators reinvest their earnings directly into promoting their channels. Want more views? Buy ads. Want more subscribers? Run a giveaway. The system is a closed loop: sensational content → more views → more Toncoin → more promotion → even more sensational content. There’s no brake.
Traditional journalists - reporters, editors, investigators - don’t have the skills or appetite for this. They’re trained to verify, not to hype. Crypto-native creators? They’re used to speculation, hype cycles, and quick flips. It’s no surprise that Telegram’s monetized news channels are increasingly run by people who think like marketers, not journalists.
Who’s Getting Hurt? The People Who Trust Telegram
Telegram isn’t just another app. In Southeast Asia, Latin America, and parts of Eastern Europe, it’s the primary source of news for millions of young adults. A 2024 Reuters Institute report found that 42% of people aged 18-24 in these regions rely on Telegram for daily news.
That’s dangerous when the platform rewards lies that feel true. A false rumor about a school closing, a doctored video of a protest, a fabricated quote from a politician - all can spread faster than the truth because they’re designed to trigger anger, fear, or curiosity. And with no fact-checking partners, no content moderation team, and no algorithm that penalizes misinformation, Telegram lets it all ride.
Compare that to Facebook, which partners with third-party fact-checkers. When a page gets flagged repeatedly, its reach drops. Ad revenue drops. That’s a deterrent. Telegram has no such system. A channel can post false content every day and still earn the same as a trusted outlet. In fact, it might earn more.
The numbers back this up. The Center for Countering Digital Hate found a 37% increase in borderline misinformation in monetized Telegram news channels between March and April 2024 - compared to non-monetized channels of similar size. The trend didn’t start with monetization. It accelerated.
Telegram’s Blind Spot: Growth Over Responsibility
Telegram’s team says they’re just "incentivizing creators." They don’t claim to be a news organization. They say they’re a messaging app. But when 2.3 million public news channels exist on your platform - and 350,000 of them are now getting paid to post - you’re not just a messenger. You’re a publisher.
And yet, Telegram has taken no meaningful steps to protect the integrity of news on its platform. No training for creators. No guidelines on journalistic ethics. No quality metrics in the revenue dashboard. No way to distinguish between a well-sourced report and a clickbait lie.
Even worse, Telegram excluded countries with strong media regulations - like Germany and France - from the monetization program. That’s not because they’re protecting those users. It’s because they know the risks. They know what happens when you pay people to maximize attention without accountability. They’re avoiding the fallout.
Meanwhile, in Brazil, India, Nigeria, and Indonesia - places with weak media literacy and high Telegram usage - the system is running unchecked. And it’s working. Channels are making money. Views are skyrocketing. Truth is falling behind.
What This Means for You
If you’re a Telegram user who relies on news channels for updates, you’re being fed a system designed to exploit your attention - not inform you.
Here’s how to protect yourself:
- Check the source. Is it a verified journalist? A known outlet? Or just a channel with 1,200 subscribers and a flashy logo?
- Look for evidence. Does the post link to a report, a government document, or a video with timestamps? Or is it just a screenshot with bold text?
- Wait 24 hours. If a story is truly breaking, it’ll be covered by multiple outlets. If it’s only on Telegram, it’s probably not real.
- Don’t share emotionally charged posts without verifying. Every share fuels the system.
If you’re a content creator thinking about monetizing your news channel - think again. You might make more money short-term. But you’re not just building an audience. You’re building a platform for misinformation. And once you cross that line, it’s hard to come back.
What’s Next?
Telegram’s ad revenue is projected to hit $1.2 billion by 2025. That’s not a typo. It’s a tidal wave of money chasing attention. And right now, the fastest way to get paid is to lie better.
Regulators are watching. The EU’s Digital Services Act team sent Telegram a formal inquiry in April 2024. But Telegram doesn’t answer to governments. It answers to its users - and its profit margins.
Unless something changes - unless Telegram adds quality metrics, fact-checking flags, or at least a warning system - the news you see on Telegram will keep getting louder, more extreme, and less true. And the people who need accurate information the most? They’ll be the ones left behind.
