Telegram is ‘Key Platform for Pro-Russian Influence in Romania Vote’: Report

A new report by analysis company OpenMinds ahead of the Romanian presidential election rerun on Sunday claims that 48 of 202 Romanian-language Telegram channels consistently promote Russian propaganda.

The election comes amid concerns about foreign meddling, particularly from Russian-backed entities allegedly using social media to manipulate public opinion in Romania on behalf of the far-right.

The report, entitled ‘End of Democracy: How Pro-Russian Telegram Channels Influence Romanian Elections’, says that the channels have been active since early 2022, reposting content from Russian state-sponsored media outlets such as RT and Sputnik, as well as messages from the Russian Embassy in Romania and pro-Kremlin bloggers.

The report documents over 4,000 unique reposts from these sources, averaging 103 per month.

George Simion, the main far-right candidate and the favourite in the Sunday election, receives favourable coverage from these channels despite his stated support for NATO and increased defence spending by European states.

”Pro-Kremlin channels show a consistent alignment in their narratives about both Simion (and the far right) and ‘the system’. Beyond reposting Russian content on the war or international affairs, some also directly adopt Russian perspectives on the Romanian elections,” the OpenMinds report says.

Simion, leader of the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR), is known for his nationalist stance and Euroscepticism. His messaging strategy heavily relies on platforms like Telegram, where he criticises censorship and promotes nationalist narratives.

The channels often mirror Kremlin-style rhetoric criticising the Romanian government and accusing it of orchestrating a “coup” and veering toward “dictatorship” because of the annulment of the December 2024 election.

The election was annulled because of alleged foreign interference. A far-right, pro-Russian candidate, Calin Georgescu, had taken the lead in the first round. He is barred from standing in the rerun.

The OpenMinds research was based on an analysis of over 3.1 million messages from the identified Telegram channels, collected between January 2022 and April 2025. Utilising machine learning, sentiment analysis and manual verification, the study examined the narratives propagated through these channels.

Although Telegram is far from the first-choice social media when it comes to Romania, with only 26 per cent of Romanians using it at least once a month, its less strict moderation rules allow it to be used by the far-right and other radical groups in European countries because they might be banned on mainstream platforms.