Russian Influence and Chinese Operations in Romania: An Interview with Anca Cernea
In the recent Romanian presidential election, a series of revelations have emerged regarding foreign interference, particularly from Russia, in the campaign of far-right candidate Călin Georgescu.
Declassified documents by the Romanian Supreme Council of National Defence have suggested a coordinated influence campaign favouring Georgescu, which involved social media manipulation, undisclosed funding, and cyber-attacks aimed at distorting election results. This campaign, while not explicitly named, is strongly implied to be orchestrated by a foreign state actor, believed to be Russia.
Approximately 25,000 TikTok accounts, many dormant since 2016, suddenly became active in November 2024, promoting Georgescu’s candidacy. This artificial grassroots support was characterised as an external operation manipulating public perception.
The Romanian Constitutional Court annulled the initial November 24, 2024 election round results, citing declassified intelligence reports and identifying Russia as the foreign backer of a social media campaign that unlawfully boosted Georgescu’s popularity. The European Commission intervened by ordering TikTok to preserve internal documents regarding its content recommendation algorithms to investigate whether the platform’s system facilitated this campaign.
However, a recount found no systemic voter fraud, and it remains unclear to what extent this alleged social media intervention affected the actual election outcome. The precise electoral impact of this interference has not been conclusively established.
While Georgescu publicly praised Russian President Putin and criticised NATO, his rise also reflected broader voter dissatisfaction with Romania’s political establishment. Most Romanians support EU and NATO membership, making Georgescu’s pro-Kremlin stance less central to his domestic appeal.
The evidence rests on official intelligence claims of a sophisticated Russian-backed social media campaign, primarily on TikTok, artificially inflating Călin Georgescu’s profile in the Romanian presidential election, leading to the annulment of the initial election results by the Constitutional Court.
This manipulation carefully hid Georgescu's real face from the public, both inside and outside Romania. The lack of a coherent political expression that is freedom-oriented, Christian, patriotic, and solidly attached to the West is a significant vulnerability in Romania's political offerings.
The Russians had carefully studied psychological and sociological trends in Romania and shaped Georgescu's campaign to respond to these aspirations, frustrations, conflicts, and interests. Călin Georgescu is not a patriot, sovereignist, independent candidate, conservative Christian, or freedom fighter confronting the Deep State, as some may perceive.
A bipartisan commission of American senators issued a statement condemning Putin's manipulation of TikTok to undermine Romania's democratic process. Georgescu's name was promoted on Sputnik, the official internet page of the Russian Federation, often before the elections.
Dr. Anca Cernea, president of the Ioan Bărbuş Foundation, believes that Georgescu’s success cannot be solely explained by Romanian people's dissatisfaction with the current political class but is mainly the result of the Russian-Chinese operation that created him.
Georgescu's career was still connected to people of the pro-Russian group from within the old structures of the communist regime, who managed to seize power by hijacking the Romanian revolution of 1989, under the leadership of Ion Iliescu. His career is connected with the darkest remains of the communist regime, and he has always been part of it.
The Georgescu operation was a gigantic hybrid operation, directed from abroad, involving state actors, with Russia and China playing significant roles. As the investigation continues, it is crucial to maintain vigilance against foreign interference in democratic processes and uphold the integrity of elections.
- The recent Romanian presidential election saw a coordinated influence campaign from Russia, as suggested by declassified documents, favoring Călin Georgescu, which involved social media manipulation, undisclosed funding, and cyber-attacks.
- This foreign interference, als0 referred to as a hybrid operation, was not limited to social media; it also involved the censured use of TikTok accounts to artificially boost Georgescu’s popularity.
- The European Commission has intervened to investigate whether TikTok's content recommendation algorithms facilitated this campaign, following the Romanian Constitutional Court's annulment of the initial election round results.
- While the exact electoral impact of this interference remains unclear, it's important to maintain vigilance against foreign interference in democratic processes and uphold the integrity of elections to secure political stability.
- Călin Georgescu's political stance, while criticizing NATO and praising Russian President Putin, is less central to his domestic appeal as most Romanians support EU and NATO membership.
- However, some experts argue that Georgescu's success is mainly the result of a Russian-Chinese operation that created him, carefully shaping his campaign to respond to psychological and sociological trends in Romania.
- The investigation into the Georgescu operation has revealed his connections to pro-Russian figures within the old structures of the communist regime, suggesting that the rise of Călin Georgescu is a significant repercussion of the hybrid warfare tactics used by Russia and China.
- In response to the revelations of Russia's manipulation of TikTok to undermine Romania's democratic process, a bipartisan commission of American senators issued a statement condemning Putin's actions.
