36,8% of expert opinions in Telegram channels have signs of mudslinging and scandalmongering — IMI study

36.8% of posts containing quotes from experts in anonymous Telegram channels contained scandalmongering or mudslinging on political and socially important topics. For comparison, there were half as many such posts last year: only 16.9% of all expert comments, according to a study by the Institute of Mass Information, published in June 2025.

Petro Poroshenko is the primary target of negative PR again. IMI researchers emphasize that scandalous posts that contain expert comments regularly feature mentions of Poroshenko. Most often, the criticism or statements shaping a negative image of the official come from the political technologists Petro Oleshchuk, Valentyn Hladkikh, Serhiy Ivanov, and unnamed “experts”, the study shows.

The attacks in anonymous Telegram channels have also been targeting anti-corruption bodies: NACB (National Anti-Corruption Bureau), SACPO (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office), and the HACC (High Anti-Corruption Court). The reviewed Telegram channels promoted claims about these organizations' ineffectiveness, calls for their liquidation, or allegations of corruption within them. The “experts” were mainly political strategists, including Mykhailo Sneider, Oleh Posternak, and Oleksandr Kochetkov. According to the Texty database of faux experts, these individuals have repeatedly worked in the interests of private clients.

Moreover, Telegram channels have made “expert” posts about the inefficiency of state-affiliated companies that are strategically important for the economy: Ukrzaliznytsia, Naftogaz, Ukrenergo, Ukrnafta. The smearing was carried out through expert comments by the aforementioned Sneider, Posternak, and Oleksiy Holubytskyi.

IMI researchers emphasize that Telegram channels employing anonymous experts, commissioned comments, and fake expertise is another tool aimed at manipulating public opinion and promoting messages favourable to certain individuals or business.

The Institute of Mass Information advises Ukrainians to refer to the High-Quality Media List and the Recommended Media Map. This is a list of media outlets that offer reliable information and do not spread manipulative, fake, or misleading news.

*IMI uses their own automated methods, collects and systematizes data from Telegram channels using software. 223,241 posts were screened during the monitoring period of June 1, 2024 to May 31, 2025. During this period, 1,409 posts contained the word “expert”.

The monitoring included anonymous Ukrainian Telegram channels with over a million subscribers: “Trukha⚡️Ukraine”, “Times of Ukraine”, “Insider UA”, “Realna Viyna”, “Realnyi Kyiv”, “Ukraina Seychas”, “Ukraina Online”, “Vsevidyashcheye OKO”, “Telegramna Sluzhba Novyn”, “Kyiv INFO”.