How does Brussels’ political center explain another defeat, this time in Romania? By blaming social media—this time TikTok rather than Twitter—for allegedly misleading gullible voters. Valerie Hayer, a Member of the European Parliament and leader of the liberal Renew Europe group, has summoned TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew to appear before the European Parliament to answer questions about the platform’s potential for political misuse. This follows the shocking success of a relatively unknown independent candidate in Sunday’s first round of Romania’s presidential election.
The electoral frontrunner, Călin Georgescu, has been labeled both domestically and internationally as a “radical populist” and “ultranationalist.” While such terms often reflect left-wing fearmongering, this may not be entirely baseless; Georgescu was even deemed too extreme for his former right-wing party. His opponent in the December 8 runoff will be Elena Lasconi, a former television host backed by the liberal establishment. Georgescu’s unexpected rise to first place, securing 23% of the vote, has left many puzzled.
Georgescu has around 300,000 TikTok followers, and his posts have received nearly four million likes. Crucially, it wasn’t just his own account driving his campaign. While TikTok’s terms prohibit paid political advertisements, users are allowed to share political content organically. Observers have accused the platform of facilitating “volunteers” or hidden transactions to bypass these restrictions. Georgescu maintains he spent no money on his campaign, though Romanian media reports claim influencers were paid by his team to promote him and his content.
However, there is no evidence of involvement from Russia or any other external actor. Initial suspicions arose because of Georgescu’s well-documented admiration for Vladimir Putin’s regime. One of his key foreign policy goals is to limit NATO’s presence in Romania, including halting the construction of the alliance’s largest military base in the country.
Meanwhile, Trump appears to be lending heavyweight support to Georgescu. Romanian media, citing political analyst H. D. Hartmann, reports that Robert Kennedy Jr. will travel to Romania next week to endorse Georgescu. The visit aims to bolster his candidacy.
Translated and edited by L. Earth
