Facebook runs hidden political ads supporting Romanian presidential candidate Georgescu

This was reported by Bloomberg, citing research from Reset Tech and Check First.

The report claims that the campaign was run through 25 seemingly separate Facebook pages belonging to organizations. However, their shared hosting, advertising, and email connections suggest a coordinated effort to influence the election.

The identity of those responsible for the ads on Facebook and Instagram, which cost nearly €265,000, remains unknown.

“While TikTok’s role in amplifying disinformation during the Romanian election campaign has been in the spotlight, new evidence shows that Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram were leveraged to spread aggressive political messaging, unverified claims, and polarizing narratives,” the study's authors stated.

The report notes that Meta platform ads depicted Georgescu as a “president patriot” standing against the political establishment. Meanwhile, Lasconi was labeled a “devil” and a puppet for the West, while Romanian President Klaus Iohannis was called a “dictator.”

“The registered advertisers’ profiles had Facebook pages with administrators located mostly in Romania, and portrayed themselves as news or entertainment sites. But the sites lacked legal or editorial information, and many were linked by shared IP addresses, identical web design, and common email and ad-tech configurations, indicating a centralized management structure.”

Meta declined to comment but referred to past remarks by Nick Clegg, its president of global affairs, who claimed there was no evidence of major incidents on Meta platforms in Romania.

What happened in Romania’s annulled first round of elections

The first round of Romania’s presidential election took place on November 24. Anti-Western candidate Calin Georgescu emerged victorious. Georgescu had previously praised fascist Romanian politicians of the 1930s, called NATO’s presence in Romania unnecessary, opposed Ukraine-related policies, and advocated cooperation with Russia. He also stated that if elected, he would cut off assistance to Ukraine.

On November 28, Romania’s Supreme Court ordered a recount of votes from the first round. The Central Election Commission suggested repeating the vote if the court annulled the results. However, on December 2, Romania’s Constitutional Court upheld the election results.

The European Commission raised concerns about TikTok’s potential role in manipulating Romania’s election. Following this, Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defense declassified documents revealing that 25,000 TikTok accounts were used to boost Georgescu’s campaign, possibly with the help of bot farms. Romanian intelligence indicated that the operation was well-funded, with evidence pointing to a “state actor” behind it.

On December 6, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled the first-round results, voiding Georgescu’s victory.