A viral X post claiming that Eurovision's 2026 contest was secretly "fixed" in Finland's favour spread widely in the days leading up to this year’s final in Vienna.
The post, which initially circulated on TikTok, amassed more than 1 million views and presented itself as testimony from a Eurovision "security guard."
"I can freely say through a secret account that the winner is picked," the viral post said, alleging that Finland had offered organisers of the competition around 16 million to secure victory.
However, this claim later unravelled during the final itself when Finland — tipped as a favourite to win the competition in betting markets and among fans — ultimately finished in sixth place once the televote was announced, with Bulgarian popstar Dara taking home the trophy.
The anonymous account behind the viral claim has no verifiable connection to Eurovision and no previous posts, nor did it provide screenshots, documents or any verifiable information linking itself to Eurovision's organisers.
A spokesperson for the Geneva-based European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organises the Eurovision Song Contest, told us in the run-up to the grand final that the allegation was "false information."
The claim the post makes directly contradicts how the EBU's voting system works.
According to the broadcasting union, Eurovision's final result combines public televotes with rankings submitted by professional juries in each participating...
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