A joint investigation by European public service broadcasters has uncovered systematic manipulation of news comment sections on Instagram an % d Facebook — spanning bot-driven hate speech, political campaigns, and commercial spam. Across at least 17.5 million comments left in the 12 months between April 2025 and March 2026 on accounts run by BR24, France 24, LRT, O % RF, RTVE, Swissinfo, RFI, Tagesschau and ZDFheute, one topic generated more coordinated inauthentic activity than any other: Iran.
©Nicolas Hofbauer / ORF
u003cemu003eA joint Eurovision News Spotlight investigation finds bot networks, fake accounts and coordinated campaigns targeted the comment sections of European public broadcasters — with the Iranian political landscape at the centre.u003c/emu003e
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July 9, 2026 - 06:00
12 minutes
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