Case Study

Moldova

PROBLEM

In September 2025, Russia launched a large-scale FIMI operation targeting Moldova’s elections, combining cyberattacks, digital media manipulation, financial interference, and diaspora disruption. Cyberattacks targeted the Central Election Commission, government systems, and politicians, while online platforms amplified pro-Kremlin narratives, intimidated voters abroad, and influenced perceptions of Moldova’s political landscape.

OUR RESEARCH

We analyzed ~250,000 media items from May 19 to November 2, 2025, across web portals, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, YouTube, TV, radio, and podcasts. Tracking included 28 parties and 104 politicians across Moldova, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Using narrative clustering, temporal spike detection, sentiment analysis, entity recognition, and algorithmic video assessment, we mapped narrative evolution, high-reach content, and coordinated activity patterns.

FINDINGS

Pro-Kremlin narratives dominated, focusing on war fears, Anti-EU/US messaging, Moldova as a pawn, and victim-martyr stories. Coordinated amplification was evident via AI-generated personas, duplicate accounts, and synchronized posting across TikTok, Instagram, and Telegram. Among the 13,673 highly relevant short videos (~40% of the analyzed videos), TikTok and Instagram accounted for the most engagement. Despite cyberattacks, protestor mobilization, and diaspora intimidation, clear election results limited large-scale unrest.

Patterns demonstrate a systematic, multi-channel information operation, showing how Russia blends cyber, social, financial, and narrative tools to influence elections and public perception.

See the Full Story — From TV to TikTok to Telegram.

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Dominyka Bernotaitė,
Head of Sales