extraordinary news from Romania where its constitutional court has cancelled the deciding round of the country’s presidential election scheduled for Sunday after allegations that Russia used TikTok to promote the leading candidate www.ft.com/content/2248... - ThreadSky

pickardje.bsky.social • 81 days ago

extraordinary news from Romania where its constitutional court has cancelled the deciding round of the country’s presidential election scheduled for Sunday after allegations that Russia used TikTok to promote the leading candidate

https://www.ft.com/content/2248c05d-5536-4525-b0d2-330fc6140401

Comments

junglebay.bsky.social•81 days ago

Ok but have they also taken the passport of Georgescu ?

linusd.bsky.social•80 days ago

Push back against Putin

happywill87.bsky.social•80 days ago

It’s what America should have done before their last election and the U.K. should also have done prior to Brexit.

pickardje.bsky.social•80 days ago

one question is whether this precedent could be used by more malevolent administrations elsewhere in future

chairmanmoet.bsky.social•80 days ago

I'm mainly wondering how you can roll back the effects of a successful propaganda campaign?
You can rerun an election but how can you ask the electors to empty their heads before they vote again?

twinklebutt.bsky.social•80 days ago

Empty heads is what they rely upon in the first place.

oddballwoofwoof.bsky.social•80 days ago

Those malevolent regimes don't need precedent to justify what they do. They're malevolent. They just make up reasons for their malevolence (see current global right-wing politics for details).

Democracies can either fight back against the manipulation of our societies or we can just surrender.

paullees496.bsky.social•80 days ago

Could the judicial branch of government, have stopped the Enabling Act in Germany 1933 that gave Hitler the power to make his own laws. Its judicial branch of government that stops democracies becoming totalitarian states, as seen in the frailer of the judicial branch in Germany in the 1930's

twinklebutt.bsky.social•80 days ago

If we start scrapping elections because of Russian interference we'd certainly have to redo recent American and UK elections. A lot of Eastern European ones, too

tweet-by-sea.bsky.social•80 days ago

I get it but the Romanian authorities didn't issue their order until the EU issued their retention order to TikTok under the DSA. So we're past allegations and into evidence. If a malevolent administration is going to do something like this I doubt they'd follow any process, or even care about it?

jaxsonparker.bsky.social•81 days ago

America and the UK need to listen to this.

cosmos4u.bsky.social•81 days ago

Key questions remain unanswered here (as in all other articles I've seen): what percentage of the electorate is on TikTok, what percentage of these actually saw the videos in question, what arguments were made in them, how did they differ from what the other candidates said, what do Romanians WANT?

oddballwoofwoof.bsky.social•81 days ago

The videos were being promoted by manipulating the algorithm so heavily they were apparently the 9th most watched videos on Tiktok in the entire world, so everyone on Tiktok would have seen them.

cosmos4u.bsky.social•80 days ago

So what was *in* those videos that - so they apparently claim - changed the minds of millions of voters rapidly? And can one still see those somewhere (with subtitles)? Annuling an - already certified - election is such an extraordinary act that all evidence, if it exists, must be put on the table.

bigbadbuckley.bsky.social•80 days ago

It important to recognise this has been a growing concern over the past few cycles. Increased cyber and hybrid warfare to influence elections..I don't know if this is the right thing to do but they have to do something to ensure viability of their democracy. No guarantee it create a different result

nicolekidmansnose.bsky.social•81 days ago

Meanwhile here in Germany we wave our hands in the air and refuse to seriously do anything that would lead to banning the AfD federally.

ccsky38.bsky.social•80 days ago

We need to make sure the voting machines were not rigged in the US elections.

peterpaddler.bsky.social•80 days ago

So it pays to capture the to court first

lbennie1234.bsky.social•81 days ago

How nice. In the U.S the media "bury" potential damaging stories, cause we had to "sane-wash" a criminal. ☹️

gilliancarrin.bsky.social•81 days ago

Dying to see the evidence. Afaics, the govt decided to declassify intelligence reports and the Romanian SC reviewed them.

murmeration.bsky.social•80 days ago

We have to trust the court that it was overwhelming…. but it does fit with Putin on Trump and Brexit to name but two

gilliancarrin.bsky.social•80 days ago

We won't see it, I suppose. But must have been compelling.

murmeration.bsky.social•80 days ago

Such a huge decision. Must have been. But countries come and disappear on such things.

gilliancarrin.bsky.social•80 days ago

Yes, it has not had a lot of attention but is quite momentous.

murmeration.bsky.social•80 days ago

Needs more attention.

And similar scrutiny elsewhere.

hindleylancs.bsky.social•80 days ago

Good to know there's a robust defender of democracy to take on Russian dark influence, 3 cheers for Romania - perhaps it will catch on in the allegedly mature democracies, for instance UK, where an investigation into Russian malpractice has been suppressed.

markconnolly.bsky.social•80 days ago

We should have done this with the largely Russian sponsored Brexit result

salnaseem.bsky.social•81 days ago

This pattern of foreign interference has taken place in elections in many other countries, so I wonder if we will see other countries follow Romania's example? One to watch.

markfreed.bsky.social•81 days ago

Not a shock. Russia is evil and interfering everywhere.

mozesmegyesi.bsky.social•81 days ago

Let's ban TikTok everywhere

murmeration.bsky.social•80 days ago

How does he challenge the decision of their most senior court? Ask Putin to invade?

coyleb.bsky.social•80 days ago

It’s time for Keir Starmer to publish the report on Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit vote. It’s now more pressing than ever.

endofthe.bsky.social•80 days ago

Maybe, just like all other most democratic and law-abiding activities, they fail due to the weakness of democracy. There is no way out - you have to act radically.

tweet-by-sea.bsky.social•80 days ago

They also had strong and speedy backing from the EU Commission. This matters when you're taking on powerful social media brands.

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