Romania’s elections overview – 11 April 2025
This Bulletin is produced and published by Funky Citizens, Member of the Bulgarian-Romanian Observatory of Digital Media (BROD) and the EDMO Fact-Checking Network.
Welcome to the 2nd iteration of our bulletin! We aim to provide special insights into how disinformation works and spreads in Romania in the weeks leading up to the presidential elections. At Funky Citizens, we have been monitoring trends and narratives linked to disinformation for the last few years, and we understand how intense this crucial period is. Along with our weekly briefing on election news developments, we offer in-depth analysis on the evolution of social media disinformation campaigns targeting the Romanian presidential race.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This week has given us plenty to analyze in Romania’s presidential race. The campaign registered a turnover with USR withdrawing support from Elena Lasconi in favor of Nicușor Dan, while Claudiu Târziu’s dramatic exit from AUR reveals internal fractures in George Simion’s party. Two presidential debates were confirmed for April 28-29 at Cotroceni Palace, where the leading candidates will face off just days before the first round of voting.
A concerning development is the emergence of a disinformation ecosystem centered around Călin Georgescu, promoting him as Romania’s rightful president while alleging that corrupt domestic institutions and foreign powers conspired to annul his electoral victory, alongside narratives claiming the EU is forcing Romania into war with Russia and undermining national sovereignty. This coordinated campaign leverages emotional triggers to erode trust in democratic institutions while creating a parallel political reality.
WEEKLY OVERVIEW
USR’s leadership has decided to withdraw support from their official candidate Elena Lasconi, redirecting their backing to independent candidate Nicușor Dan. The party plans to formalize this decision on April 24th and has already cut Lasconi’s campaign funding. Timișoara Mayor Dominic Fritz justified the move by citing internal polls showing Lasconi with only 4% support, while suggesting that George Simion and Victor Ponta currently lead the race, with Nicușor Dan following closely. Dominic Fritz announced that USR will actively campaign for Nicușor Dan over the next three weeks.
Lasconi has responded defiantly, stating she will not withdraw from the race despite losing party support. As her candidacy is officially registered, voters can still select her in the first round. She harshly criticized colleagues who shifted their allegiance to Nicușor Dan, recalling her qualification for the runoff in last November’s annulled elections when she narrowly defeated Marcel Ciolacu.
The Expert Forum reports reveal a concerning financial landscape ahead of Romania’s presidential elections. In pre-campaign financing (January-March 2025), Nicușor Dan led online spending (1.2 million lei), followed closely by Crin Antonescu (850,000 lei) and AUR (821,000 lei), with a notable network of 19 AUR-affiliated websites masquerading as independent news outlets. The report documented how sites like 60m.ro and 4media.info consistently publish unattributed content and explicitly pro-AUR messaging, while spending approximately 162,000 lei on promoting their Facebook content during the pre-campaign period. The network has direct financial connections to the party through companies owned by George Simion’s associates, with AUR vice-president Marius Lulea personally involved in managing aspects of this propaganda machine.
Once the official campaign began, the funding dynamic shifted with Crin Antonescu receiving 20 million lei from the PSD-PNL-UDMR coalition, while independent candidates Victor Ponta (10.4 million lei) and Nicușor Dan (3.1 million lei) relied on loans. First-week campaign expenditures totaled 13.7 million lei, with 84% directed toward online promotion—PSD spent 6.5 million lei (88% for online), Victor Ponta 4.3 million lei (75% online, 25% media), and Nicușor Dan 2 million lei (99% online).
As AUR deals with these revelations, the party faces further disruption as Claudiu Târziu, co-founder and National Leadership Council president, has announced his departure. He plans to establish a new political formation, claiming he’s been “driven from his own home by his children” after trying to prevent them from “setting it on fire.” Târziu accused George Simion of prioritizing his presidential campaign over parliamentary elections and criticized the party’s candidate selection process as favoring loyalty to Simion over competence.
Presidential debates have been scheduled for the final days before the first election round. Romanian Television (TVR) announced its intention to host the final debate on April 29. Interim President Ilie Bolojan has invited candidates to participate in “very fair and honest debates” at Cotroceni Palace, the “workplace of the future president.”
Additionally, Digi24 will host a debate on April 28 at Cotroceni Palace, with five leading candidates confirming their attendance: George Simion, Victor Ponta, Nicușor Dan, Crin Antonescu, and Elena Lasconi. This debate, moderated by Cosmin Prelipceanu and Lili Ruse, will cover five presidential themes of foreign and domestic policy. For the TVR debate on April 29, six candidates have confirmed their participation: Nicușor Dan, Daniel Funeriu, Cristian Terheș, Sebastian Popescu, Silviu Predoiu, and John Ion Banu.
Two newly released polls reveal scenarios in the presidential race. The “Noi, Cetățenii” survey (March 28-April 8) shows Simion and Dan in an extremely close contest (30% vs. 29.6%), with Antonescu following at 19.6%. Meanwhile, a poll commissioned by USR from an undisclosed source (April 2-7) positions Simion firmly in the lead with 40.8%, followed by Ponta at 20.4%, while Dan and Antonescu trail at 16.9% and 14.5% respectively. The latter poll shows Lasconi at just 4.1%, which appears to have factored into USR’s decision to shift support to Nicușor Dan.
SOCIAL MEDIA DISINFORMATION
A sprawling disinformation ecosystem has formed around the figure of Călin Georgescu, promoting him as Romania’s rightful president while alleging that corrupt domestic institutions and foreign powers conspired to annul his electoral victory. Central narratives claim that the second round of presidential elections was unjustly canceled in a “coup d’état,” with support from the EU, globalist elites, and intelligence agencies. These claims are bolstered by fabricated endorsements, falsified court rulings, and imagined international pressure to reinstate Georgescu’s candidacy.
Supplementary narratives expand the scope of perceived threats: accusations that the EU is forcing Romania into war with Russia, undermining national sovereignty, and driving economic subjugation; and that Romania is being censored through coordinated media control and social media surveillance. Other themes amplify fear and outrage, including antisemitic conspiracies, the imminence of a war with Russia, apocalyptic predictions, and claims of state surveillance targeting Georgescu’s supporters.
This disinformation network leverages emotional triggers—betrayal, injustice, nationalism, and existential threat—to erode trust in democratic institutions, legitimize fringe actors, and create a parallel political reality centered on Călin Georgescu’s alleged mandate and victimhood.
Delegitimizing elections
Narratives involving Călin Georgescu were once again present in the corpus and revolved around a central theme of political victimization and legitimacy. He is portrayed as the rightful president of Romania, with millions of supporters and supposed spiritual or judicial validation. Some narratives claim he won the annulled elections and remains the de facto or moral leader of the nation. Others emphasize that he has either been cleared to run again or is being blocked from doing so by corrupt Romanian and international elites. Claims of international backing—such as support from Donald Trump, Tulsi Gabbard, or the Venice Commission—are frequently fabricated to strengthen the idea that his candidacy has global importance. These stories construct Georgescu as both a national savior and an international figure, whose suppression is evidence of a deeper, systemic betrayal of democracy.
The variances across these codes show a layered approach. Some suggest Georgescu is actively persecuted by a “parallel state” or “deep state,” which allegedly includes the judiciary, intelligence agencies, and foreign actors working in concert to disqualify him through falsified accusations and judicial manipulation. Others imply that his supporters are also being targeted to discourage dissent. Further narratives propose that the second round of elections must and will be reinstated as a form of justice, portraying the annulment as a coup. These themes are supported by adjacent narratives alleging censorship, legal abuses, economic sabotage, or even divine justice. Despite their differences, all these variations aim to erode faith in Romania’s institutions while amplifying Georgescu’s role as a legitimate and suppressed political figure. Furthermore, given the scale of these layered campaigns, they are creating expectations that this political figure is currently running in the presidential race and will be on the ballot box on 4th of May, the election day.
Threat of an imminent war
Narratives referencing an imminent war with Russia and Romania mobilizing its armed forces were also present within this reporting period, linking warmongering with claims of Western election interference. The European Union and France are depicted as hostile forces interfering in Romania’s sovereignty, often in collusion with domestic elites. A recurring claim is that the EU, led by figures like Ursula von der Leyen or represented by states like France and Germany, orchestrated the annulment of Romanian elections to block Călin Georgescu’s rise to power. These narratives portray Brussels as actively undermining democratic processes in Romania, funding media manipulation, and pressuring Romanian authorities to conform to foreign agendas. The EU is also framed as an agent of economic exploitation, accused of protecting multinationals, destroying national industry, and subjugating Romanian citizens through legal and financial control.
In parallel, war-related narratives claim that the EU—especially France—is pushing Romania into a military conflict with Russia as part of a broader geopolitical agenda. Emmanuel Macron and unnamed EU officials are depicted as preparing for war or encouraging Romania to join the front line, with stories warning of forced conscription, mobilization, and the imposition of martial law. These claims are often combined with fears of NATO escalation or U.S.-EU tensions, suggesting that Romania risks becoming a battleground in a global conflict driven by foreign interests. Altogether, these narratives seek to instill fear, paint the EU as a destabilizing and imperial force, and reinforce a populist, anti-globalist worldview that positions Romania as a victim of Western aggression and manipulation.
FACT-CHECKING CORNER
The main topics covered include disinformation about the war in Ukraine, anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, disinformation about climate change and NATO, false claims involving public figures like George Soros or Olena Zelenska, and fabricated narratives about the European Union and Romanian sovereignty. Some of the statements suggested Ukraine was mistreating Romanian-speaking minorities or that NATO violated past promises, while others targeted the EU or the media with unverified or exaggerated claims. Although most of these claims circulated anonymously on social media, none were attributed to well-known public officials or active politicians in these specific cases.
Among the verified true statements, Elena Lasconi was correct in claiming that CNA (National Audiovisual Council) fine thresholds haven’t changed in 16 years, with current levels remaining unchanged since 2009. Similarly, Crin Antonescu accurately stated that relatively few countries provide lifetime pensions for Olympic athletes, as more than half of European nations don’t offer such benefits.
The false claims came from AUR representatives: Mugur Mihăescu incorrectly asserted that Russia’s economy is growing at 5% despite sanctions, when forecasts actually predict a significant slowdown. Daniel Ghiță shared misleading footage claiming Ukrainian soldiers humiliate conscription-evading youth, when the video actually showed older incidents of vigilante justice against looters at the start of the war.
Three statements were rated as truncated, including Crin Antonescu’s claims about Romania having “few troops” (when Romania is actually second in NATO’s eastern flank by personnel numbers), Mihail Neamțu’s comparison between Russian and British military recruitment (which ignored NATO’s collective defense structure), and another statement by Antonescu suggesting Romania’s party funding is exceptionally high compared to “symbolic” amounts in other countries (when several EU nations have comparable or higher levels of public funding for political parties).
This newsletter is part of our ongoing work with the Bulgarian-Romanian Observatory of Digital Media, member of EDMO.
Author: Funky Citizens