A SOS deputy (Dumitru Coarnă – former PSD, former AUR) launched a gross misinformation campaign over the weekend, claiming that a EU directive would force us to implement, starting from 2026, a „early education” program from kindergarten, which he alleges is a form of „masked pedophilia.”
Dumitru Coarnă goes so far as to claim that children as young as 6 will be exposed to „masturbation lessons,” and parents who refuse to let them attend these classes risk severe fines, suspension of allowances, or even … imprisonment!
The idea quickly caught on in extremist circles and was spread by so-called sovereignist influencers.
In an extensive post on Facebook, Oana Băluță - a professor at SNSPA - sheds light on the misinformation spread by Dumitru Coarnă about sexual education in a country where we have the highest number of underage mothers in the EU.
"This is how a SOS deputy constructs a lie about sexual education. This is also the failure of candidate selection by major political parties, in this case, PSD.
This is how disinformation (read deliberate lie) about sexual education is brought into the public space by Dumitru Coarnă, a deputy of the extremist SOS party. This is how the lie about the "danger of sexual education" and the "danger called the European Union" looks like.
This is how you build, through lies, over and over again, fear, anger, and rage.
Through lies, you demonize public policies and the European Union. But what does it matter if you spread misinformation about sexual education in Romania, where we have the highest rate of pregnancies among minors?", writes Oana Băluță.
Then, the teacher dissects point by point the statements made by the SOS deputy and shows how false they are:
"1. Dumitru Coarnă lies that there is a "new European directive" which he calls "masked pedophilia through "early education" that obliges states to implement "in all kindergartens and primary schools in the European Union, the National Program of Education on Affective, Relational, and Sexual Life (EVARS). The initiative promoted by the European Commission aims at the "early education" of children!"
2. Dumitru Coarnă picks up information about a program from France, but distorts and shamelessly lies that this is a directive of the European Union. He was even asked in a comment for the directive number. Silence.
3. For two years, in France, discussions, debates, disputes took place about the "Program of education on affective, relational, and sexual life" (Evars)." This program will be implemented in France, starting from autumn. I won't go into details about the content or to what extent it pleases different actors. But this program IS NOT A EUROPEAN DIRECTIVE as the SOS deputy shamelessly lies. More here
4. It is an embarrassing, dangerous lie that once again turns children into instruments in a fight against their rights. It is relevant to read his post which includes: fear of children's sexualization, sanctions against parents, delegitimizing those who could teach such a program, etc.
5. The lie is picked up and rolled online, with numerous comments in the category "down with the hands off the children of Romania." This was the political message of other extremists in the Romanian Parliament, AUR parliamentarians in the previous legislature.
6. The lie spread by Dumitru Coarnă is on platform X, in different Facebook groups and accounts, and is picked up by Manuela Hărăbor, who writes "These are the European values for which some applaud the euthanasia of democracy?", from there on."
Who is Dumitru Coarnă
Oana Băluţă also recalls Dumitru Coarnă's journey in Parliament. He was elected in 2020 on the PSD list, in Călărași. After 2 years, he moved to AUR, where he stayed for a year, and in 2024 he ran on the SOS list in Bucharest and became a deputy again.
In fact, Coarnă was excluded from the PSD parliamentary group, after he went to the Russian Embassy to propose "The Peace of Bucharest."
Later, he delivered a speech in Parliament with insults towards former social-democratic colleagues and accused that through a bill, children are being separated from families.
"In the Senate, there's COM 695 allowing the adoption of Romanian children by homosexual couples. I know that we have many of this type in the PSD in the room, let's protect the children of Romania. I know you can't have children among yourselves, because you can't, those in the PSD. If you want, I can give you the list live.
I know you're homosexuals and you've seen on TV, in a group, what you've done among yourselves. You can't have children, you're making a mockery of this country. Let the normal families live in Romania as they have for thousands of years. Your turn will come, traitors!", said Coarnă, while the room booed.
"Dumitru Coarnă is a politician who lies from the position of a deputy, lies for a lot of money, ours, including mine. He is a politician who represents the ideas and tactics of action of right-wing extremism at present," is the conclusion of Professor Băluţă.