A briefing note compiled by Romania's interior ministry reveals that social media influencers were enlisted by intermediary companies—at least one of which appears to have been a shell organization—to promote the profile of an unnamed “ideal candidate” prior to the presidential election. Platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook were used for the effort. Influencers were reportedly paid around €80 per post for every 20,000 followers they had.
The influencers posted videos discussing the characteristics of this so-called ideal Romanian presidential candidate, often using the hashtag #balanceandverticality. While the candidate was not explicitly named, this “ideal” profile bore strong similarities to the actual candidate, Georgescu. Videos created as part of this campaign garnered between 1,000 and 500,000 views each.
According to the documents, a Romanian involved in cryptocurrency paid $381,000 to several TikTok users to promote content associated with Georgescu in the month leading up to the first round of the election. Despite this, Georgescu claimed during a televised interview on Wednesday that he had no knowledge of this individual and did not recognize their name.
After Georgescu’s success in the first round, several influencers expressed regret over their involvement in the campaign and their paid posts.
The tactics employed in Romania mirror those used in neighboring Moldova, as noted in the ministry’s report. During Moldova’s recent two-round presidential election, a similar strategy was designed to encourage support for a pro-Russia candidate. Moldova’s pro-EU President Maia Sandu, who also holds Romanian citizenship, narrowly won last month’s runoff despite ongoing concerns about Russian interference. There were warnings that the Kremlin had plans to destabilize her government and install a pro-Russian regime.
These methods resemble disinformation campaigns orchestrated by Russia in Ukraine prior to its invasion of that country, according to the ministry’s document.
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