Pavel Durov Accuses Mark Zuckerberg of Plagiarism in an Exclusive Interview with Tucker Carlson

In a revealing interview on YouTube's "The Tucker Carlson Show," Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, accused Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, of attempting to replicate his innovative ideas. Durov, who is also the creator of the popular Russian social network VKontakte, discussed an encounter with Zuckerberg that took place over a decade ago, highlighting the ironic turn of events that followed.

Durov recounted the meeting with Zuckerberg, emphasizing that it occurred while he was still in charge at VKontakte. "We met with Mark more than ten years ago. I was managing 'VKontakte' at the time, and I told him and his colleagues about our platform and application. It was an interesting meeting. Ultimately, they tried to copy not what we had done, but how I told them we do it. It was quite funny," Durov explained.

During the conversation, Durov did not specify which exact ideas Zuckerberg allegedly tried to copy. However, the tone of the recount reveals a mix of amusement and critique towards Zuckerberg's actions following their interaction.

Besides addressing his encounter with Zuckerberg, Durov also spoke about the pressures facing Telegram. He highlighted that the main challenges come not from governments but from major corporations like Apple and Google. Additionally, Durov expressed concerns about the excessive attention he believes the U.S. government pays to him, noting that his financial reserves, including several hundred million dollars in banks and Bitcoin, have been unchanged for a decade.

Durov also touched on his support for Elon Musk's innovations on the social network X and commented on claims regarding Telegram's control, reinforcing his ongoing commitment to innovation and user privacy amidst the complex landscape of global technology and politics.