Romania was scheduled to hold a presidential election from November 24th to December 8th, 2024, but after the far-right, pro-Russian, and independent candidates won the most votes in the first round, Romania Romania’s Supreme Court ruled on December 6, 2024, after a government investigation revealed a large-scale election campaign involving numerous bot accounts on platforms such as TikTok.invalidate the results of the first round of the presidential electionI made the decision. A report by digital threat research groups Reset Tech and Check First found that a similar campaign was also run on Facebook, where it was viewed a total of 179 million times across 24 pages, despite breaking Meta advertising rules. It has been pointed out that the site gained a lot of impressions.
Research Note: Meta’s Role in Romania’s 2024 Presidential Election – CheckFirst
https://checkfirst.network/research-note-metas-role-in-romanias-2024-presidential-election/
(PDF file)Ads, Influence, and Democracy: Meta’s Role in Romania’s 2024 Presidential Election
https://checkfirst.network/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Research%20Note%20Ads,%20Influence,%20and%20Democracy_%20Meta%E2%80%99s%20Role%20in%20Romania%E2%80% 99s%20Election.pdf
Bloomberg – Are you a robot?
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-09/covert-facebook-network-found-to-be-targeting-romanian-voters
In Romania’s presidential election, which began on November 24, 2024, Karin Georgescu, a far-right, pro-Russian, and independent candidate, won the first place in the first round of voting. Preliminary opinion polls show that Georgescu’s approval rating is only 5%, and he has no support from any political party. He has been campaigning mainly on social media, but there are suspicions that he used bots and fraudulent advertisements. , Romania’s National Telecommunications Control Authority (ANCOM) conducted the investigation. As a result, it was revealed that a Romanian national had paid a total of $381,000 (approximately 57 million yen) to influencers who spread Mr. Georgescu’s information on TikTok and Telegram. In addition to calling for a suspension of the vote, the Constitutional Court ordered a recount of the votes.
Romanian regulatory authorities requested a temporary suspension of TikTok, saying “TikTok videos have too great an impact on election results”, as a pro-Russian/far-right independent candidate incited on TikTok and became number one in the presidential election – GIGAZINE
A study conducted by Reset Tech and Check First pointed out that similar campaigns were being conducted not only on TikTok but also on Facebook. Researchers used Meta’s transparency initiative, which provides details of advertisers using the social media platform, to identify campaigns run within Facebook, and found that ads supporting Mr. Georgescu were distributed in 2024. It turned out that it had been viewed 179 million times since January.
There were 24 types of Facebook accounts supporting Mr. Georgescu, all of which were people or organizations that owned websites such as advertising and email infrastructure. However, the linked sites lacked legal information, and many had common IP addresses and the same web design, leading researchers to believe that they were a “centrally managed group of fake sites.” is reporting. Romanian media also reported findings on similar Facebook accounts, stating that “The Union of Romanians was building a network of fake Facebook pages masquerading as news portals to spread propaganda and conspiracy theories.” ” states. Below are some of the political ads shown in the report, posted by different accounts using similar images and keywords.
Social media is an easy medium to spread political advertising and misinformation because it allows messages to be targeted precisely. For MetaAdvertising policyIn addition to prohibiting advertisements that contain inappropriate language or false information,Advertising policy regarding social issues, elections or politicsstipulates that when running a political campaign through Facebook advertising, it is necessary to obtain specific certification and clearly state the political organization. However, all of the Facebook accounts supporting Georgescu do not follow Meta’s advertising policies, with no affiliation listed or attacks on other candidates.
Based on the report, Check First said that in addition to violating Facebook’s policies, the ad campaign supporting Georgescu may have violated Romania’s election laws as early as April 2024. They criticize Meta for not taking appropriate action and allowing the campaign to run in the months leading up to the election, despite clear evidence and public disclosure. “These findings highlight the vulnerability of tech giants in politically sensitive regions and highlight the need for stronger safeguards against threats to the electoral process,” Check First said. “We also warn of possible new attempts to influence the upcoming elections in Romania.”
Romania’s media and Supreme Court have warned of “alleged Russian interference” over a series of large-scale, expensive political campaigns supporting independent candidates. “The danger is not yet over and we expect Russia to continue trying to influence elections in Romania and other European countries,” Siegfried Muresan, deputy leader of the Romanian Freedom Party, told Bloomberg. He said.
Romania Insider, which delivers news from Romania, reported on December 9, 2024.ContentAccording to , Bogdan Pecil, a financier and supporter of Mr. Georgescu, was arrested on suspicion of election corruption, money laundering, and weapons possession. However, Georgescu denies any involvement, saying he has never met Pecil and does not know him.
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