Romanian regulators demand that TikTok be temporarily suspended, citing 'too much influence of TikTok videos on election results' after a pro-Russian, far-right independent candidate incited on TikTok to take first place in the presidential election
In Romania, where the presidential election will be held from November 24 to December 8, 2024, a far-right, pro-Russian and independent candidate won the most votes in the first round of voting. Following this, Romania's National Communications Regulatory Agency (ANCOM) has reportedly requested the suspension of TikTok in Romania until a national investigation into manipulation of the electoral process is completed.
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Romania regulator calls for TikTok suspension amid vote interference fears | Romania | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/27/romanian-regulator-tiktok-suspended-cyber-interference-election-georgescu
TikTok CEO summoned to European Parliament over role in shock Romania election – POLITICO
https://www.politico.eu/article/elections-tiktok-ceo-eu-parliament-romania-election-fake-accounts-pro-russia-calin-georgescu-nato-shock-victory/
In the pre-election polls for the Romanian presidential election to be held on November 24, 2024, the current Prime Minister Ion Marcel Colac of the center-left ruling coalition party was in the lead, followed by Georges Simion of the far-right League for Romanian Unity as the leading candidate.
However, the final result of the election was that the number of voters was 9,465,257, the turnout was 52.55%, and the leader was Calin Georgescu with 22.94% of the votes. Since he did not receive a majority of the votes, a runoff election will be held on December 8th.
by UN Geneva
Georgescu's support rate was only 5% in the pre-election polls, but since he is not backed by a political party, he has been running his election campaign mainly on TikTok. He has posted videos of himself attending church, doing judo, and discussing the issue on a podcast, and has garnered a total of 1.6 million likes.
Georgescu is an independent candidate who has gained support from far-right, pro-Russian factions and is skeptical of the EU, having made claims on TikTok such as 'NATO is the weakest alliance in the world,' 'NATO's ballistic missile defense system to be installed in Romania is a diplomatic disgrace,' 'NATO will not protect any of its member states even if attacked by Russia,' and 'For Romania to move forward, it should embrace 'Russian wisdom' and stop Romanian aid to Ukraine.'
Following the final results on November 24, ANCOM Deputy Director Pavel Popescu commented, 'Based on evidence of manipulation of the electoral process, we have conducted an investigation and requested that TikTok be suspended in Romania until this investigation is completed.' He revealed that he had requested the suspension of TikTok through Romania's Permanent Electoral Administration.
In fact, it has been pointed out that a large number of bots have appeared on TikTok that use Georgescu's portrait as their icon.
If you were wondering how elections can be influenced. This is a bot farm that spawned an unknown candidate from Romania and placed him in the top to everyone's surprise. This is how a tik tok bot farm looks like: https://t.co/9M4RP1Myoz #alegeriprezidenţiale2024 … pic.twitter.com/01jw68ZWvL
— Dan's Odyssey (@dan_tfhc) November 25, 2024
The report also points out that 'Georgescu used an organized network of promotional accounts and a group of influencers who indirectly promoted politicians without indicating that it was paid advertising to gain the name recognition that other candidates built up in 11 months in just two months,' raising questions about where Georgescu got the funds to run such a campaign, as he is an independent with no party backing.
In 2 months, on tiktok Georgescu managed to get the reach that the other candidates gathered in 11 months, via an orchestrated network & influencers with copy-paste speeches. The question is: where did the money come from? An analysis from expertforum https://t.co/niKMX8kB0g
— Paula Erizanu (@paulaerizanu) November 24, 2024
Romania's National Defense Council said it would 'analyze the potential risks to national security arising from the actions of state and non-state cyber actors against the infrastructure supporting the electoral process.' Additionally, the National Audiovisual Council has called on the European Commission to investigate TikTok's role, citing suspected 'manipulation of public opinion' and 'algorithmic amplification of posts in favor of certain candidates.'
'The funding of Georgescu's political activities on TikTok needs to be reviewed. I don't know how legal it is, but I understand how the TikTok system was used. In my opinion, the source of the funds should be traced and the flow of money should be followed,' Prime Minister Corak said.
In response to this uproar, the EU has said that 'the Romania case is a wake-up call. Radicalization and disinformation on TikTok can occur across Europe, with potentially harmful consequences.' A leading EU lawmaker has called for TikTok's CEO to be summoned to the European Parliament.
TikTok denied the allegations of polling and algorithmic amplification, saying, 'These reports are inaccurate and misleading. Georgescu campaigned on other digital platforms.'
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