Telegram is Europe’s overlooked disinformation hub. While Facebook and X face increasing pressure from regulators, governments, and the public, Telegram remains a hidden hotspot for extremists, conspiracy networks, and foreign actors’ political debates. While we were looking into the Hungary’s 2026 election and investigating Telegram activity, we uncovered a coordinated network of 19 inauthentic news channels (spanning 19 languages, including 14 official EU languages. Collectively, these channels enjoyed over 167,000 subscribers.
