adriancernat.bsky.social
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Europe must respond far more decisively to combat disinformation campaigns like this. The stakes are too high, and the consequences too dire.
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Instead, due to the authorities’ weak response, Romanians now face a stark choice as they head to the polls on Sunday. The race is tight, fueled by relentless propaganda in recent weeks, propaganda that cannot be easily debunked.
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This follows a familiar playbook for elections across Europe, where disinformation and foreign influence are used to destabilize democratic systems. Romanian authorities should have acted decisively to disqualify CG from the race, but they haven't.
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It quickly became clear that CG’s rise on TikTok was anything but organic. This week, the Supreme Council of National Defence released a report revealing the findings of the secret service: Călin Georgescu’s campaign received substantial support from Russia.
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The answer was TikTok, where CG had been trending as the ninth most popular worldwide. But there was an issue: he declared zero campaign funds to local authorities.
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Then came election day. Exit polls still placed him in third. But the next morning, Romania woke up in shock: Călin Georgescu had won the first round of elections. The question on everyone’s mind: how did a virtually unknown candidate just weeks ago manage to surge to the top?
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Before the first round of elections, CG flew under the radar. He had no significant media coverage, and most polls lumped him into the “other candidates” category. Even as late as one week before the election, only two polls ranked him among the top five candidates.
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To provide more context, three weeks before the election, most polls did not place him in the top five. Then, a massive campaign was launched on TikTok, and he became the #9 trending topic worldwide. He ended up winning the first round of the elections. And yes, with “zero” funds.