Alegeri parlamentare 2025

DOC // INVESTIGATION: Russian propaganda intensifies before parliamentary elections in Moldova, reports Kyiv's Institute for Global Politics

The Russian propaganda in Moldova continues to massively penetrate the country's informational field, despite the efforts of law- enforcement bodies to counteract it. Its goal is to destabilize the domestic situation and influence the regional context. With the start of the parliamentary campaign, the Russian propaganda activities in have significantly intensified in Moldova, and social networks are being used heavily compared to TV channels and informational websites.

The conclusions are contained in an investigation conducted by the Institute for Global Politics (IGP) in Kyiv. IGP director Oleg Bereziuk has told MOLDPRES that Moldova was not just a friendly country, but also a strategic partner for Ukraine in ensuring global security.

Channels of Dissemination and Ways Used

Although Moldovan authorities have blocked more television channels associated with the Kremlin and Russian politicians, propaganda continues to penetrate via online media and social networks, like Telegram, TikTok and Instagram. During  September 1-20, 2025, the Institute conducted a detailed analysis of Moldova’s  information space, observing how Russia influences the population and creates anti-government sentiments on the eve of the elections.

“Around 20 channels controlled by Russia were created on Telegram, interconnected and systematically used to discredit Moldova's political leadership and spread false news aimed at scaring the Moldovan target audience. The total audience coverage of these Russia-controlled channels on Telegram is about 1 million subscribers,” the investigation reveals.

The research included a content analysis of the media environment and social networks, identifying the narratives promoted by the media infrastructure under Russia's control. Automated accounts (bots) contributing to shaping public opinion through the publication of a large volume of positive and negative comments were also monitored. A total of almost 130,000 comments were analyzed, using the way of automatic labeling on political subjects and parties, determining the sentiment associated with them.

The investigation reveals that one of the way by which Russia tries to influence public opinion in Moldova is by placing negative comments by users (bots) on the social network Telegram.

“Automatic analysis of over 128,000 comments posted under news in the Moldovan segment of Telegram allowed for the identification of a network of accounts used for discrediting the Action and Solidarity Party (PAS) and President of Moldova Maia Sandu. In total, more thousand accounts were identified, of which about one hundred left at least 50 negative comments regarding the activities of Maia Sandu and PAS during September 1-20, 2025,” the investigation also reads.

Artificial intelligence-assisted analysis identified approximately 4,200 coordinated negative comments about Maia Sandu and 8,409 about PAS. Compared to other political parties and politicians of Moldova, these values are almost an order of magnitude higher, showing the organized nature of these accounts' activities.

The study’s findings further show that about 40 per cent  of news traffic in Moldova comes from Russian news resources or publications associated with Russia, such as Ria.ru, Novostipmr.com, KP.media, Eadaily.com, Mail.ru, and Kommersant.ru.

“Russian Propaganda Uses Psychological and Informational Influence Ways to Favor a Pro-Russian Government in Moldova”

Oleg Bereziuk, Director, Institute for Global Politics:

“We identified a string of media and social networks influencing public opinion and how this reflects on the electorate. It is a common situation not only for Ukraine, but also globally. The globalization process has extended into the informational sphere. If public opinion was once shaped by journalists—the so-called ‘fourth power’—today, social networks have a role at least as important, if not more influential, than traditional journalists.”

“Russian propaganda uses psychological and informational influence ways to favor a pro-Russian government in Moldova, aiming to turn the country into a foothold for expanding Russia's influence in the region. Social networks allow propaganda to quickly reach the target audience and influence voters through well-directed messages and ideas. In Moldova, these tactics are applied more aggressively than in other states, including Romania, where mechanisms for protecting the informational space are more robust.”

IGP director emphasized that, in Moldova, the Kremlin had ruled to experiment with different influence ways, and if these tactics prove effective, the experience will later be applied in other states.

“This situation is not limit itself to Moldova. Recent discussions with colleagues from the Czech Republic and Poland show that the phenomenon is similar there, yet due to NATO membership, Russian propaganda does not have as strong an impact as in Moldova and Ukraine.

The ways currently used by Russia on the eve of the parliamentary elections in Moldova are similar to the ones applied at the presidential elections in Romania in 2024. However, in Moldova, the Russians have managed to achieve more visible results, as Romania has more robust mechanisms for protecting its informational space, which limited Russian propaganda actions. In Moldova, however, Russia adopts a much more aggressive strategy,” Bereziuk concluded.

Bereziuk emphasized that, for Ukraine, Moldova represented a strategic state, and maintaining its informational independence is essential for regional security:

“We do not want Russia to use Moldova as a ground for expansionist actions against Ukraine or other neighboring states. We are prepared to support Moldova in protecting its informational space.”

The Institute for Global Politics (IGP) is an independent think tank in Ukraine, based in Kyiv. Its mission is to research and analyze international phenomena, regional security and public administration. The Institute organizes conferences, round tables and seminars, publishes scientific materials and applied analyzes, providing short-, medium- and long-term forecasts on global events. The fundamental values of IGP are independence, impartiality, objectivity and confidentiality, and the institution has been recently actively involved in monitoring the informational space and evaluating the narratives used in the region.