Moldova between the elections - 1st November 2024

A recent investigation by TV8 shows that Alexandr Stoianoglo spent this year’s Christmas in the luxurious Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary. He was accompanied by his wife, Țvetana Curdova, and family friends. The entire trip, including the hotel expenses, was covered by a Moldovan businessman. The investigation reveals that Stoianoglo’s holiday was not just a personal retreat but part of a broader pattern of financial support from wealthy backers: Mihail Apostol, the businessman who funded the trip is linked to Ilan Şor. For example, Apostol donated about 100 000 EUR, more than half of the 2023 revenues of his company in Romania, Şor’s image-building projects. Stoianoglo’s stay in Karlovy Vary included accommodations at a high-end hotel, known for its exclusivity and high-profile clientele. The trip was meticulously planned, with Stoianoglo and his entourage enjoying the best the spa town had to offer. This lavish lifestyle contrasts sharply with Stoianoglo’s public image as a candidate fighting for justice and transparency. The investigation also highlights the broader implications of such financial ties. Stoianoglo’s reliance on wealthy sponsors could undermine his credibility and raise concerns about his independence as a candidate. The luxurious Christmas holiday in Karlovy Vary is just one example of how financial backers can exert influence over political figures, potentially shaping their policies and decisions.

Four Romanian influencers, known for their manele music, recently deleted their TikTok videos promoting the pro-Russian presidential candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo in Moldova. The influencers, Culiță Sterp, Iancu Sterp, Denisa Coțolan, and Bogdan Mocanu, removed their posts just a day after uploading them. The promotional campaign for Stoianoglo began on TikTok in Romania, featuring influencers with over a million followers. These videos, posted on Wednesday evening, followed a similar pattern: influencers praised Stoianoglo and his projects without disclosing that the content was paid promotion, a common practice on TikTok for commercial products. The influencers’ messages suggested they stumbled upon Stoianoglo’s videos by chance and were impressed by his performance. "A man who tries to build a strong, confident and competent team for all the people of the Republic of Moldova" and " It's nice to see a candidate who actually talks about development, about good relations between states", the influencers state in clips which was since then deleted. Sandu Ustețchii, a Moldovan vlogger, is accused by several Instagram users of recruiting the Romanian influencers for this campaign. Ustețchii denied any involvement, claiming the phone number listed on his Instagram and Viber accounts was incorrect. Another well-known Romanian singer, Jador, announced on his Instagram page, which has over 1.4 million followers, that he was offered a large sum of money to promote a candidate for the presidency of Moldova, but declined. He did not disclose the candidate’s name or the amount of money involved.

So-called investigation outlets that have been dormant for months after spreading propaganda have started promoting fake posts about Maia Sandu and the EU: “LGBT Dictatorship and Sandu. How the president of Moldova sees an ideal society with European values: that everyone not only supports them, but also does it. In the ideal world of Sandu, the whole society is untraditional, and the straight people also become part of the LGBT community”. The page also resurfaced the rumour about Sandu’s sexual orientation from the last presidential campaign. The outlet also covers anti-NATO propaganda, promoting an “investigation” on “the evident militarization of Moldova” at the hands of NATO, which will soon unleash a war involving the country.

Moldovan CSO Promo-LEX identified 42 cases of hate speech and other forms of intolerance during the monitoring period from October 7 to 24, 2024. Of these, 41 incidents occurred in an electoral context, with the majority (31 cases) spread through mobile apps and social media. The hate speech included stereotypes, sexist language, homophobic remarks, and incitements to violence. Men aged 35 to 50 were the most frequent users of hate speech. These incidents were viewed over two million times and shared more than 20,000 times.  Additionally, Promo-LEX reported at least eight cases of misuse of administrative resources, particularly involving Maia Sandu, the candidate from the Party of Action and Solidarity. The report also noted that both presidential candidates, Alexandr Stoianoglo and Maia Sandu, conducted numerous promotional activities, with Stoianoglo accounting for 57% of these efforts. The report highlighted unreported campaign expenses, estimating that Stoianoglo’s campaign had the highest unreported expenditures.

This newsletter is part of our ongoing work with the Bulgarian-Romanian Observatory of Digital Media, member of EDMO.