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Following a series of searches that began on Friday, *, Belgian police detained various officials they suspected of accepting payments from Qatar, including MEP Eva Kaili of the Socialists and Democrats in Greece. The controversy sent shockwaves across the continent, raising questions about openness and influence in European politics.

Overall, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) produced posts on the issue across Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in less than a week. The Qatar scandal was therefore cited in one out of every ten social media posts published by MEPs between and **. In total, #qatar was used *** times during the examined time period, whilst #qatargate was used *** times on social media platforms by MEPS.