How a little-known far-right candidate manipulated TikTok to rise to the top in the Romanian election

Georgescu’s unexpected gains are partly linked to his social media strategy. He has used platforms like TikTok effectively to sway voter opinion and spread propaganda. However, allegations that his campaign is using fake accounts to fabricate comments and manipulate social media activity have also surfaced […]

Georgescu […] praised Romania’s former dictator and Nazi ally during the second world war, Marshal Ion Antonescu, referring to him as a “martyr” who also did “good deeds”. […] He has also positioned himself as pro-Putin, praising the Russian president as one of the world’s few “true leaders”. He has criticised Romania’s support for Ukraine, claiming that Nato would not defend Romania if it were attacked. And he advocates for nationalist policies, aiming to reduce Romania’s reliance on imports and distance the country from the EU […]

His TikTok account, which was set up in 2022, has more than 400,000 followers and millions of views. Numerous accounts, groups and pages in his support have also proliferated on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter) […]

He has also claimed in interviews that women are incapable of leading Romania, and that feminism is “absolute dirt”. In one video, he declared that “only a man can do this”, referring to the presidency. These videos come not only from Georgescu’s official TikTok accounts, but also from unaffiliated accounts using his name in profiles or bios to promote his election […]

These clips [on Tiktok] often rely on emotional appeals and misinformation […]

During Georgescu’s campaign, accounts displaying bot-like behaviours have been highly active in the comment sections on TikTok, YouTube and Facebook […]

Using bots to inflate a candidate’s social media popularity and spread misinformation is a tactic that has been used to influence elections elsewhere before […]

Reports suggest that thousands of fake accounts promoted Georgescu through videos and comments prior to Romania’s election […]

Valérie Hayer, a top EU lawmaker, has now called on TikTok’s CEO to appear before the European Parliament and address the platform’s possible misuse in favour of Georgescu’s campaign.