How Russian-backed TikTok influencers interfered in Romania's elections

Financial Times explains that Romania annulled Călin Georgescu's presidential election win after intelligence reports revealed he had "illegally benefited" from a large-scale, Russia-backed social media campaign. This operation mirrors similar influence tactics used in Moldova and other countries.

According to the outlet, similar tactics were used in Moldova's October election, with officials estimating Moscow may have spent up to $100 million to sway voters against EU membership and support a pro-Russian candidate. These methods are expected to be replicated in other democracies.

German intelligence has also warned of potential Russian interference in its February parliamentary vote.

In Romania, Călin Georgescu, an ultranationalist with pro-Putin views, unexpectedly secured 23% of the vote in late November, despite polling in the single digits for most of the campaign. Romanian intelligence reports revealed that over 100 paid influencers with 8 combined million followers were mobilized to promote Georgescu on TikTok and other social media platforms. In the two weeks leading up to the election, he surged to ninth place on TikTok's global trending topics.

The Romanian interior ministry reported that some of the initial text used by influencers to promote Georgescu was identical to that used in posts supporting pro-Russian candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo in Moldova's election.

Romania's domestic intelligence service, SRI, stated that Georgescu's social media campaign was "coordinated by a state actor" with assistance from a skilled digital marketing firm. Around 25,000 TikTok accounts reportedly became active two weeks before the election, including 800 accounts that had been inactive since 2016. Romanian authorities raided the home of 36-year-old coder Bogdan Peșchir, identified by SRI as the person who "funded" the social media promotion of Georgescu.

SRI reported that Bogdan Peșchir donated over €1 million on TikTok and paid influencers $381,000 to promote Georgescu. Peșchir, under investigation for money laundering and illegal campaign financing, also had $7 million in cryptocurrency assets. He denied the allegations, claiming he wasn’t required to disclose his income.

Similar allegations arose before the European Parliament election in June, when pro-Moscow Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk was accused of orchestrating a scheme through the Czech-based outlet Voice of Europe, paying politicians to spread Kremlin propaganda.

Moldovan officials told the Financial Times that election interference has evolved beyond handing out cash on election day. With campaigns now conducted on social media and payments made in cryptocurrencies, traditional monitoring methods like election observers and party financing rules have become "outdated."

“There is no isolated solution to digitally enabled electoral interference,” said Stanislav Secrieru, adviser on national security to Moldovan President Maia Sandu. “Interference now moves at lightning speed, circumventing laws before they take effect.”

Moscow has dismissed any claims of involvement in such influence operations. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated last month, "The Russian side has not been involved in the electoral processes in Romania. In general, we do not have the habit of meddling in the elections of other countries."

TikTok stated it fully complied with national and EU law, removing the accounts flagged by Romanian authorities. However, declassified documents show that videos not marked as political ads were still being posted on other accounts, even on polling day, which is illegal under Romanian law. 

Georgescu has denied any links to Russia, claiming his only relationship is with "the Romanian people and with God." He has vowed to take legal action against the constitutional court's decision and staged protests in front of closed polling stations on Sunday, the day the run-off vote was supposed to occur.

Some influencers have admitted to being misled into promoting Georgescu. 

Alex Stremiteanu, with over 50,000 followers on TikTok, acknowledged in a post that it was "stupid" to participate in a paid campaign presented as an initiative to encourage voter turnout. He explained that the hashtags he was instructed to use, such as "presidential elections 2024," attracted "bots" in the comments section, which would post links directing viewers to Georgescu's content.

“I’m sorry I was used like a dog in this campaign, without knowing what I was doing,” said Stremiteanu.

Other influencers named in an annex compiled by SRI denied accepting any money, claiming they supported Georgescu out of conviction. Călin Donca, with over 600,000 TikTok followers, stated in a post that he stood by Georgescu despite feeling unfairly targeted and under surveillance. He said, "I promoted change - I don’t know if for better or worse, but it would have been a change I and many Romanians are waiting for."