Romanian authorities on Dec. 4 declassified evidence of what they described as a "highly organized" social media campaign backed by a "state actor" to boost pro-Russian presidential candidate Calin Georgescu in a recent vote.
The Romanian foreign intelligence agency (SIE) pointed to "aggressive Russian hybrid attacks, including cyberattacks, information leaks, and sabotage" targeting Romania.
Largely unknown ultranationalist Georgescu unexpectedly surged to first place with almost 23% on Nov. 24 and is set to face pro-EU reformist Elena Lasconi in the runoff on Dec. 8.
An independent candidate and a former member of the far-right AUR party, Georgescu has voiced admiration for Russia and its President Vladimir Putin and lambasted NATO and military aid for Ukraine.
One of the reports, declassified by outgoing President Klaus Iohannis, says that Georgescu was boosted by a state actor-coordinated campaign on the Chinese-owned TikTok platform. The campaign was initially formed around 25,000 accounts that became highly active in the run-up to the elections.
While the candidate claimed he spent no money from the campaign budget, intelligence identified one TikTok account that paid $381,000 to users promoting Georgescu. The agencies also reported 85,000 cyberattacks aimed at accessing and tampering with election data, with advanced methods indicative of "state-sponsored actors."
The campaign also used social media influencers, with a combined following of over 8 million, to influence public opinion in a similar fashion to the Russian information campaign in Ukraine before Moscow's aggression, the Romanian Interior Ministry said.
"Romanians must decide with their vote whether they want to hand over Romania to Russia as a gift," Lasconi said in light of the revelations.
"We have a choice between Russia and the EU."
Martin Fornusek
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