Romania Investigates Foreign Interference in Elections

Romania's presidential election is under scrutiny following allegations of foreign interference, particularly through the social media platform TikTok, just days before the second round of voting. Intelligence reports suggest a coordinated campaign by state-sponsored actors, likely linked to Russian interests, which has involved cyber-attacks and the use of influencers to promote far-right candidate Călin Georgescu. Despite Georgescu's claims of 'zero' campaign spending, evidence indicates significant financial backing from TikTok accounts, amounting to $381,000 spent on promoting his candidacy. The outgoing president, Klaus Iohannis, declassified documents revealing that this campaign violated both TikTok's guidelines and Romanian electoral laws by not marking promotional content as election-related. Georgescu, previously a little-known figure, has seen a dramatic rise in popularity attributed to this 'phantom campaign', which has raised serious concerns about election integrity in Romania. As the investigation continues, these revelations highlight the increasing risks of foreign influence on democratic processes in Eastern Europe.