TikTok reports on intense fraudulent activity related to elections in Romania

In its half-year report for the second half of 2024, TikTok said it blocked 33,000 spam accounts in Romania and nearly 100,000 fake accounts.

It highlighted its intense activity in blocking fraudulent activity related to Romania, particularly during the electoral campaign, indirectly admitting the magnitude of such operations invoked by Romania when canceling the presidential elections.

The enforcement of regulations among TikTok users has continued after the elections, the report reads. Between December 15 and 30, 59 real accounts that violated political provisions were also removed.

TikTok states that it has a team of 99 Romanian-speaking moderators, and for the May elections, 120 more security, integrity, and advertising experts were added.

TitkTok said it identified in September 2024 a network of 22 accounts operating from Romania that were attempting to target the Romanian public to spread disinformation and promote stories critical of the Romanian government.

In November 2024, it identified a network of 78 accounts operating from Romania that were attempting to promote candidate Călin Georgescu on TikTok and a network of 12 accounts operating from Romania that were attempting to amplify stories in Romanian favorable to independent political candidate Mircea Geoană.

In December 2024, a network of 27,217 accounts operating through a fake engagement provider, which attempted to promote the AUR political party and independent candidate Călin Georgescu by posting comments on a large scale; and a network of 68 accounts operated from the Republic of Moldova and targeting the Romanian diaspora in Romania.

“In addition to these networks, it is worth highlighting our broader defense against covert influence campaigns in Europe. In September 2024, we took global action against a covert network linked to Sputnik Media. When we remove such networks, we continue to monitor for any attempts to resurface. As part of our strategy to combat recidivism, in November 2024 we removed 11 accounts believed to be associated with Sputnik Media and targeting audiences in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. More information regarding the detailed disruptions of the above networks is published on our website dedicated to covert influence operations,” the TikTok report also reads.

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