“A part of the electorate continues to believe in old conspiracy theories or developed new ones,” Magdin said. But the man who brought the court case, Cristian Terheș, a member of the European Parliament, who ran for president and received about 1 percent of the vote, sees no conspiracy at play. Whatever the result of … Read more
On Sunday, Romanians vote in crucial parliamentary elections, with polls showing hard-right parties on track to bag a third of the ballots, riding on the momentum created by Georgescu who surged in the polls out of nowhere last Sunday to secure a shock win. The stakes are high. An outright victory for the far-right presidential … Read more
Some researchers have alleged that fake accounts or paid influencers were deployed to boost the account of ultranationalist pro-Russian candidate Călin Georgescu, who surged to victory in Sunday’s first round of voting in Romania’s presidential election. Georgescu’s content reached high view counts on the video-sharing app in the campaign’s final stretch. TikTok has repeatedly said … Read more
Romania’s top national security officials said Thursday the country was targeted by cyberattacks intended to influence the first round of voting. The role of Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok in manipulating voters is also being scrutinized. Georgescu is scheduled to take on reformist Elena Lasconi in a runoff on Dec. 8. The court decision to … Read more
While those catchy videos were an unexpected vote-winner, Georgescu’s main campaign themes had a classic populist appeal: He cited traditional Christian values, vowed to stand up for people excluded economically, and said he would make Romania more self-sufficient in sectors such as food and energy. Adrian Axinia, vice-president of the far-right Alliance for the Union … Read more
“Romania is a warning bell: Radicalisation and disinformation can happen all over Europe with harmful consequences,” added Hayer, an ally of French President Emmanuel Macron. Hayer’s appeal comes only two days after Georgescu’s shock victory. He had no party backing and polls had failed to pick up on his popularity — though researchers are now … Read more
Lasconi said Georgescu, who has campaigned on reducing imports and increasing Romanian domestic food and energy production, wanted to unhitch Romania from the European and international financial mainstream and NATO, leaving the country at Russia’s mercy. Accusing Georgescu of wanting Romania to be isolated like before the 1989 revolution, she summoned up images etched into … Read more
Georgescu, extremely religious and nationalistic, campaigned on reducing Romania’s reliance on imports, supporting farmers, and increasing domestic production of food and energy. He has also argued that the EU and NATO do not properly represent Romanian interests and claimed Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Romanian neighbor, is manipulated by American military companies. A little-known university … Read more
