President Nicușor Dan and Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan have been in Chișinău in recent weeks, where they met with Maia Sandu. On August 27, on Independence Day, we have a European diplomatic mission, similar to the one in Washington, coming to support Volodymyr Zelensky, support now offered to Moldova. Emmanuel Macron, Friedrich Merz, and Donald Tusk will be in front of the Moldovan citizens to assure them that the path to Europe is open. Will it be enough?
Maia Sandu - Foto: Hepta.ro
In a month, the European destiny of Moldova faces the challenge of parliamentary elections. The Kremlin has invested tens of millions of euros to block Chisinau’s breakaway from Moscow.
Ilan Șor, a billionaire wanted internationally and a refugee in Russia, leads the operations carried out in the neighboring country for buying votes and changing the political regime.
The manual used for the hybrid war is the same one Russia used in Romania, and AUR is a formation heavily involved in Moldova, openly promoting Putin’s interests.
"...a coordinated network of 17 TikTok accounts has been identified, generating over 1 million views in the last seven days to promote parliamentary candidate Vasile Costiuc," states a report by the non-governmental organization Expert Forum, which monitors the electoral campaign in Moldova.
sock puppet accounts systematically following the same political profiles. This is an example of electoral systems' vulnerability to manipulation through political advertising disguised as social media content. In response, systemic measures need to be taken to increase transparency and generate real countermeasures from social platforms," the document released on August 21 states.
Two friends
Vasile Costiuc is the leader of the Homeland Democracy Party in Moldova, the extension of AUR in this country.
Costiuc declared in September 2024, when the two parties signed a collaboration protocol.RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE. Vasile Costiuc, a marginal political leader from Chisinau, is heavily promoted on TikTok, following the model of Calin Georgescu, a few weeks before the parliamentary elections in Moldova - Source: Facebook/ Vasile CostiucGeorge Simion is banned from entering Moldova due to his contacts with Russian intelligence agents, being a declared enemy of Maia Sandu, just like Costiuc, the president of the republic being the politician who has taken the most significant and consistent steps towards Romania and away from Russia. A 300% increase in the last seven days, compared to the previous week, raises legitimate suspicions about the authenticity of this popularity," as stated in the Expert Forum report.everything goes viral unpredictably: over 1 million views in just the last week," the document emphasizes.
TikTok Algorithm, a Tool for Manipulation
417 videos in the last seven days, mainly promoting politician Vasile Costiuc and his party," announce representatives of Expert Forum.we are talking about relatively small accounts, with up to 1,000 followers. It is very easy for these theoretically irrelevant accounts to go unnoticed, but, according to TikTok's criteria, which are unknown to us, these can algorithmically explode with millions of views, quantified according to a completely random formula," the document further states. TikTok's algorithm can be manipulated both by platform representatives and foreign actors, who can gain access under certain conditions to make posts go viral on small, irrelevant accounts, rapidly reaching millions of people with their message.
The Secret Candidate
a model of disguised political advertising, similar to that identified in the Romanian presidential elections. The operation functions as an invisible popularity factory, where political content is presented as a spontaneous expression of public opinion, but is, in fact, the result of coordinated orchestration," the Expert Forum report states.TIKTOK-KREMLIN POLITICIANS. Calin Georgescu and George Simion are two artificially crafted political leaders following intense and opaque promotion on TikTok by operators linked to Russia - Photo: Andreea Alexandru/ Mediafax/ Hepta.ro
Russia's Objective, Forming a Parliamentary Majority Controlled by Kremlin
In the most recent opinion poll, the Homeland Democracy Party, i.e., AUR in Moldova, is ranked 6th, with 2.3% voting intention.
First Test after Georgescu's Disaster
DEMOCRACY'S RESCUE. Nicușor Dan promised during the electoral campaign to reform the systems and institutions guaranteeing the fairness of Romania's elections and to discourage Russia's interference actions. Moldova will be the first test - Photo: Andreea Alexandru/ Mediafax/ Hepta.ro many commentators and experts say too little has been done. The first major test for the authorities in Bucharest is the upcoming elections in Moldova, where it is vital for our country's security that Vladimir Putin does not regain control.
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