Authors: Andrei Rusu, Andrei Curăraru
Between April 30 and July 28, the Russian Federation, through the network led by oligarch Ilan Shor, and several local political actors sponsored 1,505 advertisements on Meta platforms, with a total estimated budget of €45,000. On YouTube, Shor and Natalia Morari placed 319 ads, the total cost of which cannot be determined.
The analysis reveals an unprecedented concentration of resources in a single core: the Ilan Shor network.
- 88,1% of Meta ads and 70.4% of the budget are attributed to this actor.
- MD24 acts as a major proxy node, running ~69% of Șor’s total ads before being removed by Meta.
- A clear tactical diversification is evident: Șor combines official pages, media proxy pages, and anonymous pages to fragment risk and increase coverage. This model reduces the visibility of the primary source and creates operational redundancy: even after MD24’s removal, ad distribution continues through anonymous pages and individual accounts.
Ilan Șor has significantly increased his sponsorship budgets, allocating €31,687 for 1,326 ads. The pages he finances belong to politicians Vasile Tarlev, Victoria Furtună, the Republican “Inima Moldovei” Party, the “Moldova Mare” Political pPrty, and the MD24 TV station. He has also reactivated sponsorships on anonymous pages with patriotic names such as: Știri din Moldova, Сильная Молдова, and News Moldova.
In terms of spending, Șor is followed by Andrei Năstase, who allocated approximately €10,000 for 110 ads. For the first time, the monitoring includes the “Respect Moldova” Party, led by Marian Lupu, former president of the Democratic Party of the Republic of Moldova. Marian Lupu allocated €3,373 for 61 advertisements.
During the monitored period, the primary propaganda narratives promoted through
advertisements on Meta and YouTube were:
- The PAS government will rig the parliamentary elections in the diaspora;
- The PAS government is persecuting the Orthodox Church in Moldova;
- The PAS government has impoverished Moldova;
- PAS has imposed censorship in Moldova;
- The EU and PAS have destroyed Moldovan agriculture;
- Bugeac belongs to the Republic of Moldova and not to Ukraine;
- Moldova will never become an EU member.
These campaigns aim to undermine Moldova’s pro-European trajectory, destabilize the political climate, and erode trust in state institutions. As a result, poor communication from authorities and pro-European parties contributes to a decline in confidence in the country’s European direction. In the context of the parliamentary elections, the authorities, in collaboration with civil society, must intensify their efforts to combat disinformation by actively informing the public and urge digital platforms to prevent electoral interference.
Between April 30 and July 28, 2025, 1,505 sponsored ads were identified on Meta platforms, with a total budget of approximately €45,000. Ilan Șor dominates the sponsorships: 1,326 ads (≈88% of the volume), with €31,687 spent. He is followed by Andrei Năstase (110 ads, ~€10,000) and Marian Lupu’s “Respect Moldova” Party (61 ads, €3,373). Natalia Morari moved her activity to YouTube, where she sponsored only 4 ads on Meta (~€399), but promoted video content heavily (see the YouTube section). Official data on spending and audiences for YouTube is missing because Google did not activate the “political ads” label.