“This investigation will also assess any causal links between those payments and a particular candidate in the Romanian presidential election,” said Toni Greblă, the head of the electoral office, about the tax probes. One key figure under investigation is Bogdan Peșchir, who allegedly funded the influencers on TikTok with €1 million. Last week, authorities raided … Read more
Georgescu is an ultranationalist who has no party and was a little-known political figure until he shot into the lead in the first round of voting after what authorities said was a coordinated foreign hybrid attack attempting to sway the election. Prosecutors raided three properties in the city of Brașov, in the mountainous Transylvania region, … Read more
President Iohannis received evidence from the secret intelligence services indicating that both state and non-state actors had interfered in the election, and naming Russia as responsible for a series of aggressive hybrid attacks. The U.S. endorsed the findings of Russian involvement. Acting on the intelligence, Iohannis declassified secret files that alleged Georgescu had unlawfully benefited from … Read more
“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
“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
Foreign spies could be using deepfake technology to threaten both individual and national security, China’s Ministry of State Security has warned. Deepfake tools, while finding application in general industries, could be exploited by espionage agencies as a new weapon for “cognitive warfare”, the ministry said in a statement on its social media account on Saturday. … Read more
LONDON — Elon Musk is beefing with British politicians again — and they’re not impressed. The X owner and Donald Trump ally brushed off a call from the House of Commons’ science and technology committee to answer questions on his role in riots that swept the U.K. this summer. Committee chair Chi Onwurah told POLITICO … Read more
RSF’s case came as U.K. newspaper The Guardian announced on Wednesday that it was leaving the “toxic” platform, citing Musk’s influence in the U.S. election and because of “often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism.” Spanish daily newspaper La Vanguardia also quit X, saying Thursday that X … Read more
Google Maps is a navigation tool and provides users with satellite imagery, aerial pictures and panoramic street photos. Kovalenko did not specify which of Ukraine’s military sites were exposed by Google. He added in a follow-up post on Telegram that representatives for the tech giant had contacted Kyiv after a public outcry and said they … Read more
