As Moldova prepares for the snap parliamentary election on Sunday, the eastern European country’s authorities are registering a Russian disinformation campaign on an unprecedented scale, aimed at derailing the country’s EU path through vote meddling.
Personal attacks on Moldova's pro-European President Maia Sandu make up a significant chunk of the Kremlin's all-out campaign, lobbing outlandish allegations through a network of anonymous websites, sometimes spoofing real-world news outlets.
Deliberately mimicking Western media, one website ran a fabricated story titled “Moldovan president in celebrity sperm scandal,” falsely using the name of a real reporter.
It alleged that Sandu, who is unmarried and does not have children, was purchasing sperm from gay celebrity donors such as Ricky Martin and Elton John to have a child.
“The article seeks to discredit Sandu by weaponising gender stereotypes and targeting her personal life, while eroding her political reputation,” said the report by Reset Tech, a global not-for-profit that monitors digital threats to democracy and Russian online influence operations since 2022.
Another article on a different fake news website referenced as its...
We’ve been working on this article for weeks. Poring over studies on the Tylenol-autism topic. Just before we got it scheduled to post… another soundbite. At today’s Cabinet meeting, Health Secret...