A news agency and websites that have previously published fake news reported that the Romanian Minister of Defense had warned that Romania would go to war. The "statement" was fabricated; in reality, the minister said that there would be peace.
"It is only a matter of time before we see war," Ionuț Moșteanu reportedly said at the NATO Defense Industry Forum (November 5-6, Bucharest), according to the Mediafax news agency, which later published a correction. Sovereignist websites, however, did not correct the information and kept spreading it in an alarmist manner.
NEWS: On the day NATO's secretary general visited Romania and shortly after some US troops had left the country, Ionuț Moșteanu made some extremely alarming statements.
The Minister of National Defense, Ionuț Moșteanu, stated in Bucharest that Romania and its NATO allies must prepare for a difficult period, in which the risk of a major conflict in Europe can no longer be ignored.
"I am sure they will try to come. It is only a matter of time before we see war. We must be prepared and learn from the experiences of recent years," the minister said, according to România TV.
He stressed that Romania will continue to be "a reliable and front-line partner" within NATO and that stability can only be guaranteed through close cooperation between allies (...)
NARRATIVE: Romanians must prepare for war, conflict is inevitable and will break out soon.
PURPOSE: To foster and amplify feelings of fear and vulnerability in society in a sensitive geopolitical context, with a bloody war on the border lasting almost four years. To spread and reinforce anti-Ukraine, anti-EU, and anti-NATO sentiments ("Ukraine does not want peace"/"The EU is dragging us into war").
A fake news story in the style of Radio Yerevan: in reality, Moșteanu said there would be peace, not war.
WHY THE NARRATIVE IS FALSE: The statement was refuted by the Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu himself, who said in a Facebook post on November 7 that it had been falsely attributed to him and that he would report it to the National Audiovisual Council (CNA).
In fact, the message from the Minister of Defense was the exact opposite of what was reported in the media. Moșteanu actually said that "it is only a matter of time before we see peace":
Minute 09:14: "(...) It is only a matter of time before we see peace, everyone wants peace, but after peace is achieved in Ukraine we will face new challenges because we do not know who will come (after Putin, ed.). Putin is old, but we do not know who will be in charge in the coming years. We must be prepared, we must have learned our lessons, we must show that we understand that we must do more for our security (...). We must remain strong together (...)".
The false statement was originally published by the Mediafax news agency, from where it was picked up by several websites, especially those associated with the "sovereignist" movement.
The news agency corrected the story with an “erratum” and kept only the corrected information. The website romaniatv.net did the same; but România TV, Realitatea Plus, and the websites activenews.ro and ecopolitic.ro did not.
Moreover, Activenews continues to question the minister's statement, even after Mediafax acknowledged that it had misreported Minister Moșteanu's statement:
“We are therefore pleased that we have drawn the attention of the young officers who read us so as to correct a piece of “fake news” initially published by Mediafax on November 5 at 1:41 pm and then broadcast by RomaniaTV on the same day at 2;19 pm, and subsequently picked up by ActiveNews on November 7 at 9:09 p.m., after Adrian Onciu, in a funny post, drew our attention to the contradictions between two or three statements made by Moșteanu. The dilemma remains: did he say it or did he not? We find it hard to believe that a professional agency such as Mediafax would have invented a statement by the Minister of Defense.
Last but not least, Ionuț Moșteanu has repeatedly denied that Romania is preparing to enter the war and has stated about Russia that "it is barely managing to hold the front in Ukraine." Moșteanu claims that the narrative regarding Romania's imminent entry into the war is being spread by individuals who are picking up "lots of disinformation from Russian sources."
CONTEXT: The subject of Romania's alleged entry into the war is one of the most inflammatory and powerful issues in Romanian society, especially on social media (TikTok, Facebook).
"Compulsory enlistment," "preparation for war," "the war that is about to begin" are narratives that are going viral, especially on TikTok, creating strong emotions in the public sphere and hostility towards Ukraine, the EU (which "is fueling the war"/"is dragging us into war") or even NATO (which "will not come to defend us").
One of the most widespread pieces of fake news in the military/war sphere this year was that French soldiers had been deployed to Romania as part of the NATO battle group in Cincu, where they were waiting to take action, dressed in Romanian gendarme uniforms, to start a civil war in the country if the presidential elections were won by George Simion, the candidate of the extremist AUR party. The fake news was publicly denied by the Ministry of Defense.
OFFICIAL REACTIONS: The first to react was the Defense Minister Ionuț Moșteanu himself, who stated two days after the initial report that the statement about war had been misattributed to him. Moșteanu dismissed the news as fake news and publicly announced, in a Facebook post, that he would report the matter to the CNA "for the first time since entering politics."
Five days later, at its meeting on November 12, the CNA decided to fine the two television stations that had broadcast Moșteanu's alleged statement about the war that would also involve Romania:
Realitatea Plus, a fierce supporter of Călin Georgescu, the former pro-Russian candidate in the November 24, 2024 presidential election, was fined 100,000 lei for the headlines: "Ionuț Moșteanu, bellicose speech at the NATO forum," "Moșteanu, alarmist speech. How he wants to say that war is coming," "Hallucinatory speech from the defense minister."
România TV, owned by the fugitive Sebastian Ghiță, who is believed to be living in Serbia, was fined 50,000 lei for the headline: "Minister Resist: It's a matter of time before we see war."
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