Declassified reports hint at ‘state actor’ behind Georgescu’s campaign

Declassified information from Romania’s intelligence agencies has revealed that the sudden rise of populist hard-right candidate Calin Georgescu in the first round of last month’s presidential election was “not a natural outcome”.

Instead, the reports show that it was the result of a coordinated social media campaign, most likely orchestrated by a “state actor.”

Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis released on Wednesday five classified reports from various national institutions and agencies on election interference, following requests from the institutions that authored them.

A previously hidden network, mainly operating on TikTok, which had been largely inactive since its launch in 2016, was activated two weeks before the elections. The network’s operators, recruited and coordinated through a channel on the messaging platform Telegram, used methods typical of a state actor’s “mode of operation,” the national intelligence agency SRI concluded.

‘Urgent clarification of issues’

The SRI also reported that nearly one million euros were spent in the campaign by an individual supporting Georgescu’s candidacy, with up to €950 paid for a repost. TikTok itself admitted to receiving €362,500 from this person last week.

On Tuesday, TikTok representatives told the European Parliament’s Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection that the Chinese platform had removed “66,000 fake accounts and many fake followers” targeting a Romanian audience since September.

Under the EU’s new Digital Services Act, political advertising on large platforms such as TikTok is now strictly regulated.

The classified reports were initially presented at a meeting of Romania’s Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) last week and then forwarded to relevant legal and regulatory bodies “to urgently take the necessary steps, according to their legal competences, to clarify the issues presented in the CSAT meeting,” as stated in the president’s office press release.

The big question now is what impact these revelations will have on the second round of presidential elections, scheduled for next Sunday.

Georgescu has repeatedly denied spending any money on his campaign, but the recent findings could lead to him being accused of illegal campaign financing.