A far-right independent candidate called Călin Georgescu is leading the race to become Romania’s next president. He took a shock lead in the first round of voting by securing 22.9% of the vote, followed by centre-right opposition leader Elena Lasconi with 19.2%. The two are set to face off in the second and final round of voting on December 8.
Georgescu’s unexpected gains are partly linked to his social media strategy. He has used platforms like TikTok effectively to sway voter opinion and spread propaganda. However, allegations that his campaign is using fake accounts to fabricate comments and manipulate social media activity have also surfaced.
Georgescu has pushed back against criticism that he used TikTok illegally to gain an electoral advantage. But the allegations, which have prompted the country’s top court to order a recount, are concerning in such a consequential election.
The race has ramifications beyond Romania, which shares a border with Ukraine and hosts a Nato military base. Following the vote, Lasconi warned Romanians that “Georgescu is an open admirer of Vladimir Putin”. She added that he “is open against Nato and the EU … And without Nato we are at the mercy of Russia”.
Georgescu made several controversial statements both during and before the presidential campaign. In 2022, he praised Romania’s former dictator and Nazi ally during the second world war, Marshal Ion Antonescu, referring to him as a “martyr” who also did “good deeds”. This remark led to a criminal investigation and Georgescu’s withdrawal as the possible prime ministerial candidate for the far-right Alliance for the Union of Romanians.
He has also positioned himself as pro-Putin, praising the Russian president as one of the world’s few “true leaders”. He has criticised Romania’s support for Ukraine, claiming that Nato would not defend Romania if it were attacked. And he advocates for nationalist policies, aiming to reduce Romania’s reliance on imports and distance the country from the EU.
TikTok popularity
Relatively unknown until the 2024 elections, Georgescu has gained significant popularity on social media in recent years. His TikTok account, which was set up in 2022, has more than 400,000 followers and millions of views. Numerous accounts, groups and pages in his support have also proliferated on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
Georgescu’s campaign has been unconventional. He has no headquarters, has refused to join major TV debates, and has no affiliation with a political party. Georgescu has flooded Romanian TikTok with short clips of himself attending church, running and appearing on podcasts.
Elsewhere on TikTok, users have produced viral clips highlighting Georgescu’s controversial stances, with colourful subtitles and dramatic music. There is even a TikTok sound dedicated to his campaign, including the lyrics “We vote for Călin Georgescu”. This sound has, at the time of writing, featured in 11,800 posts.
In a podcast-style TikTok post shortly before the election, which amassed 3.1 million views and over 85,000 likes, Georgescu declared to the Romanian people that “we’re not just voting for the president on November 24, we’re choosing which side of history we’ll be on”.
Prompted by the interviewer, he suggests that Romanians currently lack true freedom, and quotes German philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: “The perfect slave believes he is free.” Georgescu adds that, to awaken, people must first realise they are “in prison”.
He has also claimed in interviews that women are incapable of leading Romania, and that feminism is “absolute dirt”. In one video, he declared that “only a man can do this”, referring to the presidency. These videos come not only from Georgescu’s official TikTok accounts, but also from unaffiliated accounts using his name in profiles or bios to promote his election.
These clips often rely on emotional appeals and misinformation. For example, claims that voting for Georgescu secures the future of Romanian children, or that a loss would mean the election was stolen. They also contain stories, like a member of the diaspora travelling 240km with two young children to vote for him. They often include imagery that portrays Georgescu as “the chosen one”.
Fake accounts
During Georgescu’s campaign, accounts displaying bot-like behaviours have been highly active in the comment sections on TikTok, YouTube and Facebook. Social media bots are automated programmes that mimic human behaviour and attempt to sway public opinion.
Using bots to inflate a candidate’s social media popularity and spread misinformation is a tactic that has been used to influence elections elsewhere before. Analysis from the University of Oxford following the 2016 US presidential election found that more than four times as many tweets came from automated accounts that supported Donald Trump than they did backing Hillary Clinton.
Reports suggest that thousands of fake accounts promoted Georgescu through videos and comments prior to Romania’s election. Lasconi also noted her own TikTok comment section was inundated with pro-Georgescu messages.
On November 26, Romania’s media watchdog urged the European Commission to investigate TikTok’s role in Georgescu’s campaign. And Valérie Hayer, a top EU lawmaker, has now called on TikTok’s CEO to appear before the European Parliament and address the platform’s possible misuse in favour of Georgescu’s campaign.
Concerns over manipulative tactics and artificial social media support notwithstanding, Georgescu’s popularity among Romanians is undeniable. It seems to have been driven largely by widespread frustration with mainstream parties, which are blamed for Romania’s economic and political crises.
His performance also underscores the growing role social media plays in shaping public perception – and how it can directly influence the outcome of modern elections.
Anda Iulia Solea is Lecturer in Cybercrime, University of Portsmouth.
This article was first published on The Conversation.
