diff --git a/gateway/platforms/telegram.py b/gateway/platforms/telegram.py
index 26b0e4263..3fa114986 100644
--- a/gateway/platforms/telegram.py
+++ b/gateway/platforms/telegram.py
@@ -2213,6 +2213,22 @@ class TelegramAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
             if self._pending_photo_batch_tasks.get(batch_key) is current_task:
                 self._pending_photo_batch_tasks.pop(batch_key, None)
 
+    @staticmethod
+    def _merge_caption(existing_text: Optional[str], new_text: str) -> str:
+        """Merge a new caption into existing text, avoiding duplicates.
+
+        Uses line-by-line exact match (not substring) to prevent false positives
+        where a shorter caption is silently dropped because it appears as a
+        substring of a longer one (e.g. "Meeting" inside "Meeting agenda").
+        Whitespace is normalised for comparison.
+        """
+        if not existing_text:
+            return new_text
+        existing_captions = [c.strip() for c in existing_text.split("\n\n")]
+        if new_text.strip() not in existing_captions:
+            return f"{existing_text}\n\n{new_text}".strip()
+        return existing_text
+
     def _enqueue_photo_event(self, batch_key: str, event: MessageEvent) -> None:
         """Merge photo events into a pending batch and schedule flush."""
         existing = self._pending_photo_batches.get(batch_key)
@@ -2222,10 +2238,7 @@ class TelegramAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
             existing.media_urls.extend(event.media_urls)
             existing.media_types.extend(event.media_types)
             if event.text:
-                if not existing.text:
-                    existing.text = event.text
-                elif event.text not in existing.text:
-                    existing.text = f"{existing.text}\n\n{event.text}".strip()
+                existing.text = self._merge_caption(existing.text, event.text)
 
         prior_task = self._pending_photo_batch_tasks.get(batch_key)
         if prior_task and not prior_task.done():
@@ -2415,11 +2428,7 @@ class TelegramAdapter(BasePlatformAdapter):
             existing.media_urls.extend(event.media_urls)
             existing.media_types.extend(event.media_types)
             if event.text:
-                if existing.text:
-                    if event.text not in existing.text.split("\n\n"):
-                        existing.text = f"{existing.text}\n\n{event.text}"
-                else:
-                    existing.text = event.text
+                existing.text = self._merge_caption(existing.text, event.text)
 
         prior_task = self._media_group_tasks.get(media_group_id)
         if prior_task:
diff --git a/tests/gateway/test_telegram_caption_merge.py b/tests/gateway/test_telegram_caption_merge.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..09cfd8c3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/gateway/test_telegram_caption_merge.py
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+"""Tests for TelegramPlatform._merge_caption caption deduplication logic."""
+
+import pytest
+
+from gateway.platforms.telegram import TelegramAdapter
+
+merge = TelegramAdapter._merge_caption
+
+
+class TestMergeCaptionBasic:
+    def test_no_existing_text(self):
+        assert merge(None, "Hello") == "Hello"
+
+    def test_empty_existing_text(self):
+        assert merge("", "Hello") == "Hello"
+
+    def test_exact_duplicate_dropped(self):
+        assert merge("Revenue", "Revenue") == "Revenue"
+
+    def test_different_captions_merged(self):
+        result = merge("Q3 Results", "Q4 Projections")
+        assert result == "Q3 Results\n\nQ4 Projections"
+
+
+class TestMergeCaptionSubstringBug:
+    """These are the exact scenarios that the old substring check got wrong."""
+
+    def test_shorter_caption_not_dropped_when_substring(self):
+        # Bug: "Meeting" in "Meeting agenda" → True → caption was silently lost
+        result = merge("Meeting agenda", "Meeting")
+        assert result == "Meeting agenda\n\nMeeting"
+
+    def test_longer_caption_not_dropped_when_contains_existing(self):
+        # "Revenue and Profit" contains "Revenue", but they are different captions
+        result = merge("Revenue", "Revenue and Profit")
+        assert result == "Revenue\n\nRevenue and Profit"
+
+    def test_prefix_caption_not_dropped(self):
+        result = merge("Q3 Results - Revenue", "Q3 Results")
+        assert result == "Q3 Results - Revenue\n\nQ3 Results"
+
+
+class TestMergeCaptionWhitespace:
+    def test_trailing_space_treated_as_duplicate(self):
+        assert merge("Revenue", "Revenue  ") == "Revenue"
+
+    def test_leading_space_treated_as_duplicate(self):
+        assert merge("Revenue", "  Revenue") == "Revenue"
+
+    def test_whitespace_only_new_text_not_added(self):
+        # strip() makes it empty string → falsy check in callers guards this,
+        # but _merge_caption itself: strip matches "" which is not in list → would merge.
+        # Callers already guard with `if event.text:` so this is an edge case.
+        result = merge("Revenue", "   ")
+        # "   ".strip() == "" → not in ["Revenue"] → gets merged (caller guards prevent this)
+        assert "\n\n" in result or result == "Revenue"
+
+
+class TestMergeCaptionMultipleItems:
+    def test_three_unique_captions_all_present(self):
+        text = merge(None, "A")
+        text = merge(text, "B")
+        text = merge(text, "C")
+        assert text == "A\n\nB\n\nC"
+
+    def test_duplicate_in_middle_dropped(self):
+        text = merge(None, "A")
+        text = merge(text, "B")
+        text = merge(text, "A")  # duplicate
+        assert text == "A\n\nB"
+
+    def test_album_scenario_revenue_profit(self):
+        # Album Item 1: "Revenue and Profit", Item 2: "Revenue"
+        # Old bug: "Revenue" in ["Revenue and Profit"] → True → lost
+        text = merge(None, "Revenue and Profit")
+        text = merge(text, "Revenue")
+        assert text == "Revenue and Profit\n\nRevenue"