Hui said the messages, which included urging the disruption of airport operations, were attempts to incite followers to make use of poisonous, corrosive or flammable substances to vandalize police vehicles, and also called on others to make weapons to harm police. Earlier, crypto enthusiasts had created a self-described “meme app” dubbed “gm” app wherein users would greet each other with “gm” or “good morning” messages. However, in September 2021, the gm app was down after a hacker reportedly gained access to the user data. In the “Bear Market Screaming Therapy Group” on Telegram, members are only allowed to post voice notes of themselves screaming. Anything else will result in an instant ban from the group, which currently has about 75 members. The court said the defendant had also incited people to commit public nuisance, with messages calling on them to take part in rallies and demonstrations including at Hong Kong International Airport, to block roads and to paralyse the public transportation system. Various forms of protest promoted on the messaging platform included general strikes, lunchtime protests and silent sit-ins. In 2018, Telegram’s audience reached 200 million people, with 500,000 new users joining the messenger every day. It was launched for iOS on 14 August 2013 and Android on 20 October 2013.
from us
