by Attila Biro – Context.ro
At the end of last year, Romania held presidential elections that resulted in a historic event: for the first time in 50 years, elections were canceled after the first round. This decision to halt the electoral process and order a redo after the first round, won by Călin Georgescu, a pro-Russian extremist and promoter of disinformation, was made by the Constitutional Court. The main reason cited for canceling the elections was alleged Russian interference.
While Romanians are still waiting for law enforcement and national agencies to provide clear evidence of this interference, we can now discuss the battle for democracy being waged by local media against algorithms and disinformation platforms. This struggle arises from the growing influence of social media algorithms in shaping public opinion and the efforts of independent media to counteract the spread of disinformation.
Before the presidential elections highlighted the massive presence of extremist groups in Romania, an extensive investigation revealed that the elections for the European Parliament were, in part, rigged. Although “rigged” may seem like a strong term, the investigation showed that extremists across the EU were favored by social media algorithms, particularly on TikTok. Concurrently, social media platforms have been cracking down on independent media that strive to inform citizens about the risks associated with electing autocrats and potential dictators. These biased algorithms have helped extremists translate likes and shares into votes. The rise of this new wave of extremists is not solely due to social media; it also reflects a failure of both national and EU establishments. However, the algorithms act as additional fuel, igniting the fire that drives extremist groups promising a new world order of prosperity for those who feel ignored or discriminated against by their governments.
This context set the stage for the summer in Romania. The presidential election campaign featured a multitude of pro-Russian extremist candidates. Despite facing significant challenges, our local media remained steadfast in their efforts to inform the public. For instance, Context.ro was targeted by one presidential candidate after we uncovered links between his chief of staff and Russian businessmen. Mircea Geoană, who stepped down from a leadership position at NATO to run for the presidency, attacked Context.ro with a false conspiracy theory. The S-Info network quickly intervened, publicly supporting Context.ro against this vicious attack. Local media in Romania also united, demonstrating that independent journalism is resilient and strong.
Geoană wasn’t the only politician to flood social media and public discourse with conspiracies and disinformation. Călin Georgescu, the pro-Russian candidate who won the first round of the presidential elections, inundated TikTok feeds with false information. In response, Context.ro created a unique tool that monitors TikTok feeds and quickly identifies whether a video contains disinformation. This tool revealed that over 30% of the videos published by extremists who gained seats in the Romanian Parliament consisted of conspiracies and false information aimed at poisoning public perceptions.
The rise of these extremist candidates did not happen overnight. They benefited from an online infrastructure built over the years with extensive funding, some of which came from EU sources. Investigations done by Context.ro have shown that “a network of companies and NGOs affiliated with the ActiveNews.ro portal, which promotes conspiracies and disinformation, has run projects with European funds worth over 136 million lei (27 million euros). The owner of ActiveNews.ro ran European programs while conducting anti-EU campaigns and promoting Romania’s exit from the EU. The portal is the most popular site identified in the cross-border investigation “Network of Lies”, is part of a disinformation ecosystem created in Europe and constantly publishes articles containing anti-European messages.”
As you can see, democracy in the EU is under attack from extremists who are supported by social media algorithms. Meanwhile, the free press that fights against this tide by informing the public is also facing significant challenges. Independent media plays a crucial role in safeguarding our democracy. What can we do? We can unite across the union and various professions. S-Info represents a response to the need to protect our democracy. Journalists and activists are coming together with a shared goal: to protect democracy! We invite you, our readers, to join us in this effort. You can support quality journalism and civic activism by sharing our work with a broader audience. Additionally, you can participate in our upcoming campaign, which aims to highlight the importance of journalism in a democracy—because there can be no democracy without a free press!