{"id":4848,"date":"2025-05-05T07:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=4848"},"modified":"2025-05-05T07:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T07:01:00","slug":"romania-reportedly-holds-hard-evidence-of-russian-interference-in-2024-presidential-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/?p=4848","title":{"rendered":"Romania reportedly holds hard evidence of Russian interference in 2024 presidential elections"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Romanian authorities have obtained concrete evidence that Russia orchestrated cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns aimed at manipulating the country\u2019s November 2024 presidential elections, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediapart.fr\/journal\/international\/020525\/les-services-secrets-roumains-accusent-le-kremlin-d-avoir-truque-la-presidentielle\" target=\"_blank\">Mediapart <\/a>quoted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.g4media.ro\/breaking-cum-au-sustinut-o-serviciile-secrete-ruse-pe-diana-sosoaca-si-au-mutat-sprijinul-catre-calin-georgescu-operatiunea-serviciului-rus-svr-a-inceput-in-2023-si-a-continuat-cu-campaniile-tiktok.html?mc_cid=dcead15289&amp;mc_eid=607bd7d763\" target=\"_blank\">G4Media<\/a> reported on May 3, citing sources within the French administration and intelligence services.<\/p>\n<p>According to the French investigative portal, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) traced a wave of more than 85,000 cyberattacks targeting Romania\u2019s electoral infrastructure, launched from 33 countries but coordinated by Russia\u2019s foreign intelligence service (SVR), led by Sergei Narishkin. Narishkin is known as a close ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin.<\/p>\n<p>The SVR-led interference campaign reportedly began in 2023, with the initial objective of promoting candidates aligned with sovereignist and isolationist views. While Senator Diana \u0218o\u0219oac\u0103 (banned from running in the annulled presidential elections last November) was initially targeted for support, the operation eventually focused on C\u0103lin Georgescu, whose candidacy was also banned in 2025 for extremist rhetoric. Georgescu won the annulled November 2024 first-round vote with 23%, despite polling below 1% weeks earlier.<\/p>\n<p>A key element of the operation was a mass manipulation effort on the social media platform TikTok. Mediapart states that at least 25,000 coordinated accounts engaged in \u201castroturfing\u201d\u2014a tactic used to simulate grassroots support\u2014designed to exploit the platform\u2019s algorithm and rapidly boost Georgescu\u2019s visibility. The campaign succeeded in transforming the low-profile candidate into a frontrunner.<\/p>\n<p>Following the Constitutional Court\u2019s decision to annul the November elections, Mediapart claims that Moscow launched a secondary disinformation campaign labeling the decision a \u201ccoup d\u2019\u00e9tat,\u201d aiming to undermine public confidence in democratic processes\u2014an approach similar to tactics used in other European countries.<\/p>\n<p>Romania\u2019s intelligence services have reportedly confirmed Russia\u2019s involvement in the cyberattacks and TikTok manipulation, though the SRI has not yet issued an official statement. The operation was allegedly designed to benefit a candidate who would halt Romanian support to Ukraine and potentially shift the country\u2019s alignment within the European Union and NATO.<\/p>\n<p>According to Mediapart, \u201cthe interference was not just experimental but a long-term operation planned at the highest levels of the Kremlin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>(Photo: Octav Ganea\/ Inquam Photos)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>iulian@romania-insider.com<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Romanian authorities have obtained concrete evidence that Russia orchestrated cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns aimed at manipulating the country\u2019s November 2024 presidential elections, Mediapart quoted by G4Media reported on May 3, citing sources within the French administration and intelligence services. According to the French investigative portal, the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) traced a wave of more [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4848"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4848\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ofero.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}