In 2024, the Republic of Moldova was the focus of Russian propaganda, especially in the context of the referendum on the European integration of the country and the presidential elections. Russia promoted narratives designed to further divide society and, just like in 2023, themes relating to the country's involvement in the war in Ukraine, alleged attacks on Transnistria and NATO membership, as well as LGBT "propaganda." In the rush for the most "convincing" and alarmist narratives, propaganda sometimes reached the point of derision, launching ludicrous fakes.
TOP NARRATIVES
The year 2024 was also an election year in the Republic of Moldova. On October 20, presidential elections were held, but also a constitutional referendum on the European integration of the country. Although it has no legal effects on the negotiation process, launched last year, this exercise was the target of the Kremlin's attacks, in an attempt to divert the European course of the Republic of Moldova.
The Referendum on the European Integration of the Republic of Moldova was, in fact, aimed at involving the country in the war on the side of NATO, according to a narrative promoted by the media institutions subordinate to the Kremlin, which evolved into the narrative according to which the referendum allows renouncing neutrality and the union with Romania. Other false narratives on this topic debunked by Veridica included the one stating that the referendum was aimed at eliminating the opposition or that the plebiscite was rigged. One of the “best” was lunched by the Russian Foreign Minister, who claimed that by organizing the referendum, the Republic of Moldova renounced Transnistria. .
In parallel with the narratives directed directly against the referendum, the online environment and the traditional press abounded in fakes about the European Union, intended to increase the level of Euroscepticism among the voters in the Republic of Moldova, and have them vote against the Western course. On the one hand, an attempt was made to create an image of the European Union in which small countries or new members do not benefit from the same rights. In the EU, only the founding countries have rights, according to one of these narratives debunked by Veridica. All member states enjoy the same rights, including the right to veto on certain matters, which has recently been widely used by Hungary, for example. Another fake worth mentioning is the one according to which Romania is a second-rate country in the EU and that accession did not help it from an economic point of view, and Moldova risks the same fate. On the other hand, fakes were intensively promoted about the Republic of Moldova losing its statehood upon joining the EU, or that the West doesn’t help the Republic of Moldova and has already got its assets, such as its banking system.
Another major theme of the false narratives promoted in 2025 was that of the existence of a so-called LGBT agenda or that it has already become mandatory in the Republic of Moldova , and the West is imposing an anti-family ideology on the Republic of Moldova.
A further line of attack was aimed at deepening the divides in Moldovan society. On the one hand, the propaganda accused the pro-European government in Chisinau of dividing society , but on the other hand, it launched a series of false narratives with this very purpose. Some of them claimed that in the Republic of Moldova there’s a fight between the pro-Romanian and pro-Moldovan politicians, that Maia Sandu was only the president of the Moldovan citizens in the diaspora, or that a Russophobic policy was promoted in Chisinau.
In the third year of Russia's war in Ukraine, the Kremlin propaganda also focused on the narrative of the imminent involvement of the Republic of Moldova in the war, driven by NATO, as well as the so-called intention to launch attacks on the Transnistrian separatist region. The goal was to instill fear in society and mistrust among the population on the left bank of the Dniester. Therefore, the year 2024 was full of "news" about the West’s intention to turn the Republic of Moldova into an anti-Russian bridgehead, that it would send soldiers to the front under the French flag, or that the EU was preparing Romania and the Republic of Moldova for war against Russia.
At the same time, alarmist fakes were launched about either Ukraine, or Romania allegedly preparing attacks on Transnistria, and Chisinau was accused of imposing taxes that would lead to the annexation of Transnistria by Romania and of causing the energy crisis in Transnistria , even if it was actually Gazprom that stopped gas supplies to the secessionist region.
Top 5 FAKE NEWS
FAKE NEWS: NATO wants to build a military logistics terminal in the Republic of Moldova and use it to deliver weapons to Ukraine, claimed the fugitive pro-Russian politician Ilan Shor, but and also a large number of Telegram channels and Facebook pages. In fact, it is a logistics terminal, which the Chisinau authorities want to build in order to develop their infrastructure capabilities. The purpose of the fake news was to associate an infrastructure project with NATO and the war in Ukraine, inducing in parallel fear in society regarding the supposed intentions of the pro-European authorities in Chisinau and the West to involve the Republic of Moldova in the war.
FAKE NEWS: Moldova wants to hand over to Ukraine a Russian weapons depot in Transnistria. Through this type of narratives, the idea is to have society fear that the Republic of Moldova may become a theater of war. The military depot at Cobasna, built during the Soviet period, is located on the left bank of the Dniester, in the separatist Transnistrian region, and is guarded by Russian soldiers; Chisinau does not control the region in question.
FAKE NEWS: The Russian troops in Transnistria are defending Romania’s and Ukraine’s interests, according to a so-called expert from Tiraspol, who was trying to glorify Russia's role in maintaining peace on the Dniester and stability at regional level. The narrative has no logic: in the context of the war in Ukraine, Kyiv would be interested in not having any kind of Russian military presence behind its front. Similarly, Romania has nothing to gain from the Russian military presence a little more than 100 km from its borders.
FAKE NEWS: Romania is to blame for the famine in Soviet Moldavia in 1946-47, because it removed agricultural equipment and inventory from the region, said the vice-president of the Russian Security Council, Dmitri Medvedev. The statement aimed to dissociate the former USSR and, respectively, Russia, as its legal successor, from negative events, in this case, organized starvation. At the same time, the goal was to present Romania as part of the West and the main factor that caused the hunger, death and suffering of hundreds of thousands of people. Veridica demonstrated, based on research, studies and talks with historians, that the statement was totally false.
FAKE NEWS: Maia Sandu is to blame for the increase in the crime rate in the Republic of Moldova, according to the conclusions of a pro-Kremlin telegram channel, after a Turkish criminal was killed on a terrace in Chisinau. In reality, the crime rate has decreased in Moldova and fighting crime is not the responsibility of the president of the state.
Top 5 DISINFORMATION NARRATIVES
DISINFORMATION: The Army of the Republic of Moldova will become part of the Romanian Army claimed some pro-Russian politicians who erroneously presented a document regarding operations under the auspices of international organizations. The purpose was to fuel fear in society about a possible involvement of the Moldovan soldiers in military actions and, indirectly, to bring back into discussion the narrative about the "annexation" of the Republic of Moldova to Romania. In fact, it was a Protocol signed in Bucharest on mutual support in the field of preparation and joint participation in missions and operations under the auspices of international organizations, such as the European Union.
DISINFORMATION: EU sanctions for Moldovans, reminiscent of Stalinist deportations. It was about the imposition of sanctions by the European Council against politicians and businesspeople with Moldovan or Russian citizenship involved in destabilizing activities. Some of these people were involved in the "Bank fraud" case, which led to huge losses for the budget of the Republic of Moldova. Others are associated with efforts orchestrated by the Kremlin to destabilize the Republic of Moldova. Veridica showed that the Stalinist persecutions in the Republic of Moldova consisted of large-scale deportations (hundreds of thousands of people), meant to eliminate the national and social identity from the Romanian territories invaded and annexed by the USSR. As regards the European sanctions, they targeted a few individuals whose involvement in criminal actions or actions to destabilize security had already been proven. The sanctions are only meant to prevent those individuals from carrying out economic activities intended to support their operations on the territory of the European Union, or to enter its territory. By no means detention, deportation, confiscation of assets (assets are only frozen) or any other arbitrary punitive actions are intended (any of these require court decisions following trials).
DISINFORMATION: NATO was created by Nazi German officers, according to a narrative promoted by a string of pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, featuring a list of eight World War I and World War II German officers. However, they started holding various positions in NATO since 1957, and the Alliance was established in 1949. The Federal Republic of Germany joined NATO in 1955.
DISINFORMATION: The intention to leave the CIS plunges Moldova into an economic crisis ; this is part of a larger narrative according to which the happy future of the Republic of Moldova lies with Russia, on which Moldovan exports and economic growth still depend. The Russian press and pro-Russian politicians in Chisinau exaggerate the importance of the CIS states for the exports and, respectively, the economy of the Republic of Moldova. In fact, in 2023, the share of CIS in Moldovan exports was only a little above 7%, while until the end of the 90s, 70% of the Moldovan goods would go to the CIS market. The Republic of Moldova turned even more towards other markets, especially the EU market, when Russia imposed bans on sensitive categories of Moldovan products in retaliation for the signing of the Free Trade Agreement with the EU.
DISINFORMATION: The leadership of the Republic of Moldova is trying to ban Christianity and bring the country back to paganism, claimed a narrative debunked by Veridica.md. The purpose of this narrative was to associate pro-European authorities with opponents of traditional values and religion. The Moldovan authorities are not trying to take away Christianity from people, let alone bring them back to paganism
MOST OUTLANDISH FAKE NEWS
The expert in everything, the spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, identified the main problem of the demographic crisis facing the Republic of Moldova: the NATO exercises. "I understand why the birth rate is decreasing in the Republic of Moldova. If there are 17 military exercises with the participation of the American and Romanian military, then Moldovan men simply do not have time to procreate", Zakharova stated. It is true that in the Republic of Moldova the birth rate has been decreasing, but it is a process that has been recorded, with small interruptions, for 30 years. Maria Zakharova's assessments of the potential of the Moldovan military seem to have been influenced by the legends regarding the virility of Stephen the Great. However, it’s rather unfair to put the full responsibility for the decrease in the birth rate in the Republic of Moldova on the shoulders of the Moldovan soldiers, especially those who participate in military exercises. The army has about 6,000 soldiers, of whom only a few dozen/hundred participate in military exercises, which usually last a few days a year.
FAKE NEWS: Bucharest is afraid that Moldovans will denounce the Union of 1859, according to a political scientist from Tiraspol, who says that Moldovans in Romania could denounce the Union of Principalities of 1859, because of the aggressive Romanianization policy promoted by Bucharest in the Republic of Moldova. The statements about a possible denunciation of the 1859 Union of Principalities is a new one, but it is part of a meta-narrative promoted during the Soviet period about the existence of a Moldovan people and a Moldovan language distinct from the Romanian people and language, which has taken root quite deep in society and which is currently supported by the Kremlin, but also by pro-Moscow politicians in Chisinau. In modern Romania, there’s been no political trend or even marginally relevant voice to propose the annulment of the Union of 1859.
FAKE NEWS: Moldova wants a wall on the border with Ukraine - a total fake, based on statements made up by the Russian propaganda as belonging to the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Chisinau, Mihai Popșoi. Veridica has proven that, in addition to the fact that the minister did not make such statements, such a project would be impossible from an economic and logistical point of view.
