TikTok and Politics: How the Platform Became a Manipulative Tool About Romania

On March 27, 2025, a video was posted on YouTube with a provocative headline: “The EU took away Romanians’ choice!”. With the following content:

Fair elections in Europe have to be demanded. Thousands of residents of the Romanian capital took to the streets of Bucharest. The demonstration took place in front of the government building. The protesters are speaking out against the annulment of the results of the first round of presidential elections and are calling for the resignation of the current head of state. The rally was timed to coincide with the birthday of far-right politician Calin Georgescu. I remind you that it was his candidacy that the majority of voters supported in December. However, the Romanian court noticed external influence on the voting results. This became the beginning of political persecution against Georgescu. Afterward, six charges were brought against him and he was banned from participating in the repeat elections. The politician himself called the Central Election Commission’s decision to bar him a direct blow to the heart of democracy throughout the world. Thousands of Romanians agree with this. I note that Georgi Scuni is a European politician in the usual understanding of this definition. His views differ from those commonly accepted in the West. He opposes NATO and Romania’s involvement in military conflicts, criticizes anti-Russian sanctions, and calls Ukraine a “fictional state.”

Our verdict based on the analyses conducted:

Verdict: Incorrect

Reasons:

• The thesis or statement is completely false: information from multiple sources or opinions of several experts in the specific field contradict it.
• The stated cause-and-effect relationships and connections clearly do not exist as claimed.
• When quoting, substantial parts are omitted, rearranged, altered, or incorrectly translated from a foreign language, resulting in a fundamental change in the meaning of what was said.
• The event occurred in substantially different aspects than stated.

Fact-checking rating scale

Full video:

Event history:
In November 2024, the first round of presidential elections was held in Romania, the results of which caused significant controversy and concern. An unexpected victory in the first round was won by little-known far-right candidate Calin Georgescu, which came as a surprise to many observers. A key role in his success was played by the social network TikTok, where his campaign received widespread distribution. It is believed that Georgescu actively used the platform to promote his views, especially among young people, which provided him with significant support in this age group.
However, after the elections, suspicions arose of manipulation and foreign interference through TikTok. Romanian intelligence services reported the possible use of the platform to spread disinformation and influence public opinion in favor of Georgescu. As a result, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results of the first round of elections, citing identified violations and interference.
These events attracted the attention of the European Commission, which launched a formal investigation into TikTok on suspicion of violating the Digital Services Act and possible facilitation of manipulation during the elections in Romania. Romanian authorities are also considering suspending TikTok in the country until the investigation is completed.
The situation in Romania highlights the growing role of social networks in political processes and the need for careful monitoring of their use to prevent manipulation and ensure the integrity of elections.
Now let’s perform an analysis of disinformation narratives and semantic analysis: