Romania hit by major election influence campaign, amid Russian cyber-attacks
Authorities in Romania have disclosed details of what appears to be a significant attempt to influence the country’s presidential elections through the social media platform TikTok, as well as a series of cyber-attacks.
Romania’s domestic intelligence service has indicated that the operation seems to be “coordinated by a state-sponsored actor.”
Calin Georgescu, a far-right, NATO-skeptic who has previously expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin, was largely unknown in Romania until his unexpected victory in the first round of presidential voting two weeks ago.
Now, Romanian intelligence officials claim that his sudden surge in popularity is the result of a “highly organized” and “guerrilla” social media campaign, which involved identical messaging and the use of influencers. They believe this campaign was launched from “external locations” to evade control measures.
Additionally, a separate intelligence report highlights that Romania has been identified by Moscow as an “enemy state” and a primary target for “aggressive hybrid actions.”
This politically sensitive information was released just days before the second round of voting, through declassified documents made public by the outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis.
The documents reveal that paid content supporting Georgescu was promoted on TikTok without being labeled as election-related, violating both the platform’s rules and Romanian electoral laws. Content from other candidates, however, faced stricter scrutiny.
Georgescu has consistently claimed that he spent “zero” on election promotion and has denied engaging in a formal campaign. However, the intelligence documents identify one TikTok account that allegedly made payments totaling $381,000 (£299,819; €361,872) in just one month, from October 24, to users promoting Georgescu.
Georgescu claims the release of the documents is a coordinated attempt to block his candidacy.
“I think it’s the first time in the history of the world when a state is organising an action against a candidate to stop him from running,” he said in a TV interview on Wednesday.
He also denied knowing any of the influencers or funders mentioned in the reports.
The documents released in this highly unusual move were all papers drawn up for a meeting of the security council following the first round of the presidential election.
They also reveal that access data for electoral websites was stolen from legitimate users and published online “on cyber-crime platforms originating from Russia”.
Separately, the intelligence agencies report some 85,000 attempted hacks in an attempt to access electoral data and change content – including on election day. The report says the cyber-attackers used advanced methods to remain anonymous, working in a way and on a scale “typical of state-sponsored actors”.
An investigation is ongoing to discover who was responsible and whether there was any impact on the election.
Russia has denied any interference in Romania’s election process.
Far-right frontrunner Georgescu is due to face reformist candidate Elena Lasconi in a second round vote on Sunday.
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu– who came 3rd in the presidential race – has now announced he will “fully endorse” Elena Lasconi.
But that’s assuming the vote goes ahead. The prosecutor’s office is now examining the new documents.
“I hope that, based on the evidence published today, the state authorities will take appropriate action, and all those responsible will be held accountable,” Ciolacu said.
He added that people’s votes have shown they want the “continuation of Romania’s European development path”.
A pro-EU protest has been called for Thursday evening.
Commenting on the protest, Georgescu warned against possible unrest, citing the “Maidan” in Ukraine – the revolution of 2014 that ousted a pro-Russian president.
“Please stay at home with your family. We need social tranquillity. God will not let Romania down,” Georgescu said.
