diff --git a/apps/bot/src/telegram/callbacks.ts b/apps/bot/src/telegram/callbacks.ts
index ef2535e..008d89b 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/telegram/callbacks.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/telegram/callbacks.ts
@@ -52,16 +52,19 @@ async function findOperator(ctx: Context) {
 // reply if the previous message can't be edited (e.g. a photo message -- Telegram
 // won't let us turn it back into a text message).
 async function showMenu(ctx: Context, view: MenuView): Promise<void> {
+  // Default to Markdown parse mode unless the menu explicitly opts out.
+  // Views with user-supplied content set `parseMode: undefined` to render plain.
+  const parseMode = "parseMode" in view ? view.parseMode : "Markdown";
   try {
     await ctx.editMessageText(view.text, {
       reply_markup: view.keyboard,
-      parse_mode: "Markdown",
+      parse_mode: parseMode,
     });
   } catch (err) {
     logger.debug({ err }, "showMenu: edit failed, sending fresh message");
     await ctx.reply(view.text, {
       reply_markup: view.keyboard,
-      parse_mode: "Markdown",
+      parse_mode: parseMode,
     });
   }
 }
@@ -457,7 +460,7 @@ export async function showWizardConfirm(ctx: Context): Promise<void> {
   }
   const tz = op.defaultTimezone ?? DEFAULT_TIMEZONE;
   const whenLocal = DateTime.fromJSDate(w.scheduledAt).setZone(tz).toFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm");
-  const body = w.text || (w.mediaId ? `[media${w.caption ? ` -- ${w.caption}` : ""}]` : "(empty)");
+  const body = w.text || (w.mediaId ? `(media${w.caption ? ` — ${w.caption}` : ""})` : "(empty)");
   await showMenu(ctx, reminderConfirmMenu({
     accountLabel: account.label,
     groupName: group.name,
diff --git a/apps/bot/src/telegram/menus.ts b/apps/bot/src/telegram/menus.ts
index 245b464..bf22081 100644
--- a/apps/bot/src/telegram/menus.ts
+++ b/apps/bot/src/telegram/menus.ts
@@ -21,6 +21,12 @@ import { DateTime } from "luxon";
 export type MenuView = {
   text: string;
   keyboard: InlineKeyboard;
+  /**
+   * Telegram parse mode. Defaults to "Markdown" for legacy formatting.
+   * Set to undefined when the text includes user-supplied content that
+   * could contain `*`, `_`, `` ` ``, `[`, `]` etc. and break the parser.
+   */
+  parseMode?: "Markdown" | "MarkdownV2" | undefined;
 };
 
 export function mainMenu(): MenuView {
@@ -283,7 +289,7 @@ export async function reminderDetailMenu(
     ? DateTime.fromJSDate(rem.scheduledAt).setZone(operatorTimezone).toFormat("yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm")
     : "—";
   const messagePreview = rem.messages
-    .map((m) => (m.kind === "text" ? m.textContent : `[${m.kind}]`))
+    .map((m) => (m.kind === "text" ? m.textContent : `(${m.kind})`))
     .filter(Boolean)
     .join("\n");
 
@@ -293,14 +299,17 @@ export async function reminderDetailMenu(
     .text("⬅ Reminders", "m:reminders")
     .text("⬅ Main Menu", "m:main");
 
+  // User-supplied content (rem.name, messagePreview) — render as plain text
+  // so stray `*` / `_` / `[` don't break Telegram's Markdown parser.
   return {
     text:
-      `📅 *${rem.name}*\n\n` +
-      `When: \`${when}\` (${rem.timezone})\n` +
-      `Status: \`${rem.status}\`\n` +
+      `📅 ${rem.name}\n\n` +
+      `When: ${when} (${rem.timezone})\n` +
+      `Status: ${rem.status}\n` +
       `Targets: ${rem.targets.length}\n\n` +
-      `*Body:*\n${messagePreview || "(empty)"}`,
+      `Body:\n${messagePreview || "(empty)"}`,
     keyboard,
+    parseMode: undefined,
   };
 }
 
@@ -455,13 +464,17 @@ export function reminderConfirmMenu(summary: {
   const keyboard = new InlineKeyboard()
     .text("✅ Schedule", "rm_save")
     .text("⬅ Cancel", "m:reminders");
+  // Body is user-supplied — disable Markdown parsing to avoid stray `*`, `_`,
+  // backticks, or `[` breaking the message. The trade-off is that the labels
+  // ("Review", "Body") render as plain text, but that's fine for a confirm step.
   return {
     text:
-      "*Review*\n\n" +
+      "Review\n\n" +
       `Account: ${summary.accountLabel}\n` +
       `Group: ${summary.groupName}\n` +
       `When: ${summary.whenLocal}\n\n` +
-      `*Body:*\n${summary.body}`,
+      `Body:\n${summary.body}`,
     keyboard,
+    parseMode: undefined,
   };
 }