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European political dissidents, human rights activists and journalists are among thousands worldwide being spied on by malware sold to authoritarian regimes, a media investigation has claimed.

Journalists were allegedly spied upon in Hungary and France and the revelations have prompted calls for inquiries, Euronews reported.

The Pegasus Project investigation, released on Monday, is based on a list of more than 50,000 mobile phone numbers believed to be targeted by the malware by the Israel-based NSO Group and leaked to the Paris-based nonprofit Forbidden stories and human rights group Amnesty International.

The military-grade malware infects phones, allowing the operator to access messages, photos, emails, and location data as well as surreptitiously control the device's microphones and cameras.

A consortium of 16 media organisations was able to identify more than 1,000 individuals in 50 countries who were allegedly selected for potential surveillance by NSO clients.

These include more than 600 politicians and officials, dozens of business executives and human rights activists, several heads of states and over 180 journalists, including Cecilio Pineda, a Mexican journalist who extensively covered crime, social issues and corruption. He was shot dead in March 2017.