GNV News — February 5, 2025

On December 6, 2024, in Romania, the Constitutional Court annulled the results of the election in which the independent candidate Calin Georgescu had advanced to a runoff. The social media campaign that helped boost Georgescu’s support was attributed to Russian interference and was widely reported as a major reason for voiding the election. However, a joint investigation by independent outlets Dropsite News and Truthdig revealed details indicating that the campaign originated domestically rather than from Russia.

First, this investigation and other independent media investigations point out that the classified documents released by the Romanian government to indicate Russian involvement do not contain such evidence and do not substantiate Russian interference.

It became clear that behind the actual social media campaign was the involvement of the National Liberal Party, which has governed Romania for many years, and of a telecommunications company funded by that party. Furthermore, among the groups that sought to emphasize Russian involvement were Romanian NGOs receiving funding from the United States, and their data analysis used Ukrainian software.

At root, suspicion of outside interference arose because it was unexpected for a candidate outside the two major parties to gain such a high share of the vote. However, with political corruption a major problem in Romania, dissatisfaction with the long-standing two-party system has been growing, and some have noted that it is not at all surprising that Georgescu attracted support. This series of events has highlighted the vulnerability of democracy to “information manipulation.”

Learn more about Romanian politics → “Can corruption be stopped? The struggle of Romanian citizens”

Distribution of candidate support in Romania’s 2024 presidential election: in the regions shaded gray, Georgescu won (Photo: Cdrei / Wikimedia Commons [CC BY 4.0])