Trending on X (2 a.m.): Media contracts, rental fees, cold snap, capital MPP

Here are the 6 topics Mongolian users discussed most on X between 22:13 on October 16 and 02:13 on October 17 (Ulaanbaatar time), ranked by likes, reposts and views. Friday night was quiet, but the media-contract debate turned toward legal fixes, while rental brokerage fees, the cold snap and the capital MPP’s conference date also drew attention. Topics covered in earlier roundups appear only when there was a genuine new development. There were 6 real, verified topics, so we did not pad to 10. Metrics as of 02:35.

1. Media contracts: calls to ban state-funded media contracts by law (new development)

Earlier roundups focused on the size of state–media contracts and journalists clashing with one another. Overnight, the conversation moved toward legal solutions. @ganuuhs shared what was presented as a Facebook post by N. Unurtsetseg, editor of Zarig.mn, and urged lawmakers to ban media contracts paid from the state budget. In that post, she wrote that all outlets hold contracts with state bodies, acknowledged that Zarig.mn itself has cooperation contracts worth MNT 10 million a year with some organisations, and proposed a law banning such budget-funded deals. We have not independently verified the post at its source.

@Muujiravdan suggested that state bodies publish information through their own press officers and websites, disclose any paid contracts, and that outlets rely mainly on subscriptions. Earlier, MP Ch. Lodoisambuu told UBN.mn he would propose cutting all media and publicity spending from the 2027 budget and said draft laws to stop state bodies from using such contracts to influence media were ready. Our earlier audit-based summary is here. We left out posts that accused named journalists or outlets of taking money without verifiable evidence.

2. Rental brokerage fees: debate over RE/MAX commissions (new)

@amarbayarm criticised RE/MAX for charging a full month’s rent as commission for brokering a six-month lease. It was the window’s most-viewed post and drew many replies. That is the user’s view.

According to RE/MAX Mongolia’s website, rental commissions depend on lease length: 20% of one month’s rent for 1–31 days, 50% for 32–180 days and 90% for leases over 181 days, plus VAT. The company says the fee is charged only to the landlord.

3. Cold snap: snow in Murun, sub-zero days in the capital (new development)

Earlier roundups covered snow in Ulaanbaatar and the western provinces. In this window, posts showed the cold spreading. @oyukhaa shared photos of snow in Murun, the centre of Khuvsgul province. @Baabarniitlelch wrote that last year he sprayed water on the leaves of his garden trees before a hard frost, which froze the leaves and kept their colour through the winter, and that he had done so again ahead of tonight’s sub-zero temperatures. The post drew more than a thousand views.

A forecast published by UBN.mn says Ulaanbaatar will be cloudy with light snow on October 17, with lows of −5 to −7°C and daytime temperatures of 0 to −2°C. North-westerly winds of 6–11 m/s will gust to 13–15 m/s.

4. Viral: “Boodog” spends a night in a tent (new)

@turiinsoyorholt shared a photo from a night in a tent, introducing the plush toy beside them as “Mr. Kailash… his Mongolian name is Boodog.” It was among the most-liked Mongolian-language posts of the window, with replies urging the camper to stay warm now that snow has fallen.

5. Capital MPP sets its conference for November 7 (new)

UBN.mn (@UBn_mn) reported that the presidium of the Mongolian People’s Party’s Ulaanbaatar committee met on October 16 and set the committee’s conference for November 7, where it will discuss the question of the committee chairmanship. The post is currently held by former Ulaanbaatar mayor Kh. Nyambaatar. Earlier, news outlets reported that the MPP’s leadership council had instructed the capital committee’s presidium to set a conference date. We have not confirmed the date with a source other than UBN.mn.

6. Japan’s new farm minister Takebe Arata has Mongolia ties (new development)

The 10 a.m. roundup covered the resignation of Japan’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries minister. In this window, a post focused on his successor. @uka_mn noted Takebe Arata’s appointment, describing him as a member of the Japan–Mongolia parliamentary friendship group who visited Mongolia this spring.

NHK reported that Takebe, a 56-year-old Liberal Democratic Party member of the House of Representatives, succeeds Yana Kazuo, who resigned. Montsame reported that on April 30, 2026, Takebe led a parliamentary delegation to Ulaanbaatar as chair of the Japan–Mongolia friendship group and met Vice-Speaker B. Purevdorj.

Methodology: We ranked posts from about 200 major news and influential accounts found through X search, plus more than 50 keyword searches, by an engagement score (likes + 2× reposts + views/100), and checked the facts against news sites. Posts that could not be verified or that carried a risk of defamation were left out. Views expressed by individuals on X do not represent the position of egov.mn.