Hey everyone! I’m trying to figure out how to send a message through the Telegram Bot API that looks like a news article. I want it to have a bold title, an image, and some text with links. I’ve got the bold text and links working with markdown, but I’m stuck on how to add the image.
I know we can send photos separately, but is there a way to embed them right into the formatted message? I’m looking to create something that flows together nicely, like you’d see in a real news app.
Has anyone done this before? Any tips or code examples would be super helpful! I’ve been searching online but haven’t found a clear answer yet. Thanks in advance for any help!
hey noah, i’ve messed with this before. afaik you can’t embed images directly in formatted text messages 
best workaround i found was to send the image first, then immediately follow with your formatted text msg. not perfect but looks ok if you time it right. hope that helps!
I’ve encountered this limitation as well. Unfortunately, the Telegram Bot API doesn’t support embedding images directly within formatted text messages. A workaround I’ve used is to send the image first, followed by the formatted text message. To enhance the presentation, you can add a caption to the image that serves as a title or teaser for the main content. This approach, while not seamless, can create a cohesive look if executed properly. Another option is to use a web page preview by including a link to a page with your desired layout. This method allows for more complex formatting, including embedded images, but requires hosting the content externally.
I’ve tackled this issue in my projects before. Unfortunately, Telegram’s API doesn’t allow for embedding images directly in formatted text messages. A trick I’ve found effective is creating an image that includes both the photo and the headline text, then sending that as the main image. Follow it immediately with your formatted body text.
This approach gives a more unified look, almost like a proper article layout. You’ll need to do some image editing, but it pays off in the final presentation. Just make sure your image dimensions work well on both mobile and desktop views.
For the body text, I usually stick to simple markdown for formatting. Links work great this way too. It’s not a perfect solution, but it’s the closest I’ve gotten to a news-style layout within Telegram’s constraints.