Elections - Cătălin Gomboș

DEMAGOG 2021. The Chisinau Report, No. 5: Radio Yerevan
DEMAGOG 2021. The Chisinau Report, No. 5: Radio Yerevan

disinformation, manipulative stories and fake news continued to flood the media as usual. Maia Sandu, PAS and the West were again the favorite targets of disinformation and fake narratives. Fake news authors were pretty much unimaginative, as they have been over the course of the entire campaign, resorting to narratives they used before, both in the current campaign, as well as in previous ones: a victory for the right-wing would spell disaster for the country

FAKE NEWS: If PAS wins the election, Moldova will be sold off to foreigners
FAKE NEWS: If PAS wins the election, Moldova will be sold off to foreigners

Maia Sandu and PAS intend to give away Moldova’s natural resources to Western powers, allowing them to buy farmland at very low prices, sputnik.md writes, even though neither the president of the Republic of Moldova nor the party she founded have so far made any comments in this respect. The narrative is linked to the liberalization of the land market in Ukraine, a decision which was also the target of fake news disseminated by the Russian and pro-Russian media.

DEMAGOG. The Chisinau Report, No. 4: The disinformation testing ground
DEMAGOG. The Chisinau Report, No. 4: The disinformation testing ground

Veridica has debunked fake news about manipulating statistics in favor of Maia Sandu, her alleged links with fugitive oligarchs and her unrestricted use of the Intelligence and Security Service. All this while, we are told that non-governmental organizations (which Maia Sandu and PAS obviously work for) are on the brink of destroying the country, while the current “regime” – another reference to Maia Sandu, despite the fact that the president’s prerogatives are rather limited, and the country continues to be run by the Socialists and their allies – is ready to apply for NATO accession.

FAKE NEWS: Chisinau wants to be part of NATO
FAKE NEWS: Chisinau wants to be part of NATO

The “regime” in Chisinau wants to have the Republic of Moldova join NATO and is ready to make “unfriendly” gestures towards Russia, according to a false narrative promoted by Sputnik. The starting point of the narrative was the participation of a single Moldovan army platoon in a multi-national exercise to which, in the past, Russia would also be invited.

DEMAGOG 2021. The Chisinau Report, No. 3: Moldova, at the Crossroads
DEMAGOG 2021. The Chisinau Report, No. 3: Moldova, at the Crossroads

The Republic of Moldova is at a crossroads, politicians and analysts seeking to mobilize the electorate for the July parliamentary elections are saying. This is by no means the first “crossroads” in the country's electoral history: almost every time elections have taken place in the last 30 years, someone has described them as crucial to the country's future. No matter what Moldovans chose - whether they voted for those who promised to bring salvation or those about whom they were told would bring disaster - the country always took a step back and remained one of the most corrupt and probably the poorest country in Europe.

FAKE NEWS: Russia must stay in Transnistria to ensure peace and security and thwart NATO’s expansionist plans
FAKE NEWS: Russia must stay in Transnistria to ensure peace and security and thwart NATO’s expansionist plans

Russia has no choice but keep its troops in Transnistria, in order to ensure the peace and security of the region, which is allegedly targeted by the Republic of Moldova, Romania and NATO. The false narrative is spread by the Kremlin's bullhorn, Sputnik, in the context in which Transnistria has become one of the themes of the Chisinau election campaign.

DEMAGOG 2021. The Chisinau Report, No. 2: Dark clouds over Moldova
DEMAGOG 2021. The Chisinau Report, No. 2: Dark clouds over Moldova

Dark clouds of authoritarianism and war are forming over the Republic of Moldova, but they can still be cleared away if patriotic forces will take the reins. This is the image painted by the narratives that crayoned a new week in the campaign for the early parliamentary election in the Republic of Moldova. The narratives are stemming from disinformation and fake news postulated by both Chișinău and Russia, the latter trying to endorse its clients in the Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists.

FAKE NEWS : The fight against corruption, a pretext to turn Moldova against Russia
FAKE NEWS : The fight against corruption, a pretext to turn Moldova against Russia

Under the pretext of supporting the fight against corruption, the West wants to impose in the Republic of Moldova a political class ready to turn the country against Russia.

DEMAGOG 2021. The Chisinau Report, No.1: The Battle Of The Three Presidents
DEMAGOG 2021. The Chisinau Report, No.1: The Battle Of The Three Presidents

A new election campaign is underway in Moldova, the third in 2 years. In essence, as in most of the elections that have taken place since Moldova gained independence, what we see today is a confrontation between the so-called "Eastern and Western vectors". Russia openly supports the Eastern vector; The West promises funding for the reforms promised by the Western vector. The election campaign, like most campaigns in recent years, is marked by an abundance of fake news and disinformation, usually launched by the left wing and the media affiliated with the Socialists or the Kremlin. The authors of the false narratives, however, seem to be running out of new ideas: most of them have already been used in the election campaigns that have taken place since 2016.

FAKE NEWS: Maia Sandu is preparing a wave of arrests, with support from the West
FAKE NEWS: Maia Sandu is preparing a wave of arrests, with support from the West

Maia Sandu has created an “anticorruption” structure in order to eliminate from public life and the administrative apparatus the politicians and officials that are inconvenient, according to a false narrative spread by Sputnik. The said structure - the Independent Anticorruption Advisory Committee – is allegedly controlled by the West.

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Disinformation uses a variety of manipulation tactics. Disinformation stories can easily be created by combining provocative topics.

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