The sophisticated pro-Russian disinformation campaign, dubbed Matryoshka, has ramped up its efforts to spread propaganda in Moldova. It aims to discredit its pro-European Union government as parliamentary elections loom, according to a study.
The transparency tool NewsGuard said that the operation promoted false claims that Moldovan President Maia Sandu embezzled $24 million (20 million) and that she’s addicted to "psychotropic drugs".
It said that one campaign alone targeted Moldova with 39 made-up stories in three months since the elections were called in April this year, compared to zero the year before. The vote is scheduled for September 2025.
The Matryoshka campaign is a coordinated pro-Russian operation, known among fact-checkers for spreading false news reports in the style of legitimate media outlets.
It has previously spread disinformation about the US 2024 presidential election and the war in Ukraine. According to NewsGuard, the false Moldova narratives spread by Matryoshka recently took the form of reports by the BBC, the Economist and Euronews, among 20 others.
Euroverify has previously debunked a number of fake videos, produced using Euronews' logo and graphics, which targeted Moldova’s handling of sexual health, corruption and illegal immigration.
"Many of the claims in the phoney news reports accused Sandu and her party of corruption," NewsGuard said.
"For example, an April 2025 video bearing the BBC logo claimed that the investigative journalism...
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