Ahead of two important polls in October, Russian-linked oligarchs on the run from Moldovan justice have been paying to spread their anti-European propaganda online, to try to shape the outcome.
Moldova’s online space – websites and social media platforms – is not regulated, unlike TV and radio, where the state has strong control over outlets’ ownership and funding through the country’s Audiovisual Council. Police investigate online hate speech or threats, but not disinformation and intentionally fake news.
A recent report by Watchdog Community, a think tank in Chisinau, said the fugitive Moscow-linked oligarchs Ilan Shor and Veaceslav Platon spent about 136,000 euros on Facebook promotions in June, July and August.
According to the report, these sponsored campaigns aim to sow panic in society, discredit the European integration process of Moldova and “whitewash” Russia’s image.
“Russia is actively preparing for destabilisation during the presidential election campaign and the referendum on European integration,” it said.
Ilan Shor, the mastermind of the “Grand Theft” of one billion US dollars from the Moldovan banking system, is currently hiding in Moscow. Veaceslav Platon, the mastermind behind the “Russian Laundromat”, which laundered over $20 billion dollars in Moldova, is hiding in London.
According to DataReportal, Moldova currently has 2.14 million Internet users and 1.58 million users of social networks. About 73.6 per cent of these internet users used at least one social media platform in the first month of 2024.
The most popular platforms are TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram. At the beginning of 2024, Facebook had 1.30 million users. Between January 2023 and January 2024, 100,000 new users registered on the platform.
Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, has argued that for the past two years, it has used enforcement tactics against influence operations – both covert and overt – and continues to monitor for attempts to manipulate public debate around the world, particularly ahead of elections.
Fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor, former leader of the now-outlawed Shor Party, at a press briefing in February 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/Dumitru Doru
Promoting Kremlin narratives
Internet pages sponsored by Shor and Platon often feature content related to the classic themes of Russian propaganda in Moldova, and are currently focused on the presidential elections and the referendum on EU integration that both take place on October 20.
“These disinformation campaigns can have a powerful impact on the results of the polls this fall and especially on the constitutional referendum,” the director of WatchDog Community, Valeriu Pasa, said.
The WatchDog Community report notes that Shor and Platon are sponsoring Facebook posts on various pages associated with them, promoting the idea that the referendum on the EU is useless and that its results will have no impact at all on the EU accession process.
“The idea is [also] promoted that the central government is imposing unjustified sanctions on the [mostly pro-Russian autonomous] Gagauzia region, thus undermining local stability. It is argued that the authorities are exaggerating military risks [from Russia] to gain political advantage, denying real threats to national security,” the report said.
The report presents other false narratives being promoted, including that the current government accepts any condition imposed by the EU, that Moldova is a “colony of the West”, and that the leadership of Moldova are “puppets of the West”.
“The false narratives say that the Moldovan government would unconditionally accept all EU requirements to receive European funds, implying a lack of sovereignty and discernment in the negotiation process,” the report stated.
The director of the think tank, Valeriu Pasa, believes that this campaign in the online environment is strongly influenced by fake news and conspiracies spread by Russia and its agents of influence in Moldova.
Pasa urges Moldova’s media to publish as much truthful news stories as possible, including reliable information and figures about EU integration, comparing the standard of living, incomes, and quality of life of people in Russia and the European Union.
“This will help create an objective opinion based on facts and not lies. Secondly, it is essential that information about fakes is present in the news and the press,” the expert said.
Natalia Morari, partner of the fugitive Moldovan oligarch Veaceslav Platon, at her launch as an independent candidate for the 2024 presidential elections. Photo: EPA-EFE/Dumitru Doru
Money spent on disinformation
Shor alone promoted at least 104 ads through 11 Facebook pages between July 1 and 30, spending 30,500 euros on them.
According to the report, the number of his sponsored ads increased in July by 20 compared to the period from June 1 to 30, though the budget for them remained unchanged. In the week of July 24 to 30, Shor spent some 4,741 euros on advertising promotion.
“Three pages belong to ‘Renaissance’ Party members, officially supported by Ilan Shor: Veaceslav Jucov, Vasile Bolea and Alexandr Nesterovschi. The rest of the pages use a similar visual identity and have profile photos with the Moldovan flag and usernames that allude to either media organisations or patriotic organisations,” the report notes.
Platon promoted around 82 advertisements between July 1 and 30 on his own personal Facebook page and that of his partner, former journalist Natalia Morari, who is running in the presidential elections. Platon spent about 19,500 euros. In the week of July 24 to 30, Platon spent approximately 3,600 euros on promoting ads on the two pages.
“In the public space, the two oligarchs continue to promote a positive image of the Russian Federation, using various media tools and personal relationships,” the report states.
In addition to buying sponsored ads on Facebook, Platon also actively promotes content on YouTube and through Google Ads.
The Watchdog Community report, by monitoring public opinion manipulation campaigns and using polls it recently commissioned, concludes that this paid-for content has affected the public opinion of Moldovan citizens.
“We are seeing a very high impact of disinformation campaigns and manipulation of public opinion. They aim first and foremost at the referendum on accession to the European Union,” Valeriu Pasa said.
Facebook owner Meta has made efforts to block fake news from, or on, Moldova.
In a June report, Meta specified that it had eliminated over 1,326 Facebook accounts, 80 pages, a group and an Instagram account, deemed to be part of a disinformation network aimed at the public in Moldova. The messages came from Shor or his right-hand deputy, Marina Tauber, who both are hostile to the pro-European government.
Wired magazine, a US monthly, reported earlier this year that Shor had managed to place “political advertising” on Facebook ahead of Moldova’s November 2023 local elections, long after he had been stopped from doing so as a person under US bans.
Wired wrote that Meta earned more than $200,000 from a Facebook campaign in which last summer and autumn Shor promoted pro-Kremlin views and sought to influence public opinion in the November 2023 elections.
The Intelligence and Security Service of Moldova, SIS, has stated that it sent Meta a list of accounts that promote disinformation, especially during elections, as early as 2023.
Meta has said it is working with the Centre for Strategic Information and Countering Disinformation, a Moldovan government-run unit. However, the social media company did not respond by the time of publication to BIRN’s questions about increased advertising spending by pages affiliated with Shor and Platon that contain anti-EU messages.