Russian propaganda swamps Moldova ahead of elections

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Russian propaganda swamps Moldova ahead of elections  Moldova's geographical position and political makeup make it a prime target for pro-Russian, anti-EU disinformation.  READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/07/25/russian-propaganda-swamps-moldova-ahead-of-elections  Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages

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00:00Russian propaganda swamps Moldova ahead of elections.

00:06The sophisticated pro-Russian disinformation campaign, dubbed Matryoshka,

00:12has ramped up its efforts to spread propaganda in Moldova.

00:15According to a study, it aims to try and discredit its pro-EU government as parliamentary elections loom.

00:22Newsguards said that the operation promoted false claims that President Maya Sandhu embezzled $24 million,

00:28about 20 million euros, and that she's addicted to psychotropic drugs.

00:33It's said that one campaign alone targeted Moldova with 39 made-up stories in three months

00:38since the elections were called in April, compared to zero the year before.

00:42The Matryoshka campaign is a coordinated pro-Russian operation,

00:46known among fact-checkers for spreading false news reports in the style of legitimate media outlets.

00:52Euroverify has previously debunked false videos produced using Euronews' logo and graphics,

00:57which targeted Moldova's handling of sexual health, corruption and illegal immigration.

01:03A Moscow-based influence network called Pravda has also boosted Matryoshka's exposure,

01:08using its different language services to report on the fake videos.

01:12For example, the Romanian Language Service published an article about President Maya Sandhu's alleged drug addiction,

01:18using a logo of the American Psychological Association to try and feign legitimacy.

01:22News Guard also found that AI chatbot ChatGPT used these Pravda network articles as evidence.

01:29When asked about the false reporting stating that Sandhu rigs her election using absentee votes,

01:35ChatGPT referred to outdated voter lists and fraud risks in absentee voting,

01:40citing a Pravda article that contained a fake BBC video.

01:43As its elections approach, EU candidate country Moldova continues to be a prime target for pro-Russian disinformation

01:50due to its position between Eastern and Western European spheres of influence

01:54and domestic tensions between pro-European and pro-Russian factions.

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