In Moldova, Russian interference on online platforms, such as Telegram, Facebook, and TikTok, has been thoroughly documented by journalistic and police investigations. The Kremlin denies any involvement, claiming that these operations are mainly orchestrated by Ilan Shor, a pro-Russian oligarch who is currently living in exile in Moscow. But Russia is not the only actor seeking to influence the former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people, located between Romania and Ukraine, which was holding legislative elections on Sunday, September 28.

The Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), the second-largest political force in Romania, is also inserting itself into Moldovan politics. “According to our research, Moscow is the main actor behind disinformation operations in the region. But we have discovered that AUR’s information campaigns overlap with those of Russia,” said investigative journalist Attila Biro, speaking in Bucharest. He pointed to anti-Western, anti-Moldovan government diatribes spread by AUR-linked accounts, similar to content posted by pro-Russian networks.

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