Evaluation of disinformation campaigns financed by Șor and Platon: impact and limited reaction of social platforms
Author: Andrei Rusu, WatchDog.MD Co-authors: Andrei Curăraru, Valeriu Pașa Fugitive oligarchs Ilan Șor and Veaceslav Platon intensified their disinformation campaigns on online platforms. Between June 1 and June 30, 2024, both spent about 55,250 euros promoting...
What are the odds of Vlad Plahotniuc’s sanctions being lifted?
Plahotniuc v Council: Prospects and challenges Vlad Plahotniuc has challenged the Council's decision to impose sanctions, including a visa ban and asset freeze, due to his alleged actions destabilizing Moldova. His challenge is based on two main arguments: first,...
Case study: NATO SUMMIT IN BUCHAREST
One of the major events of November 2022 was the NATO Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Bucharest on 29-30 November, where Western leaders were called to assess the implementation of NATO’s strategic concept, adopted last summer in Madrid, and to discuss how the West can...
“LEOPARDS” – ON THE TRAIL OF DISINFORMATION
Germany has given the green light for the delivery of Leopard tanks to Ukraine, the government in Berlin announced on 25 January. Shortly after Berlin's announcement, US President Joe Biden confirmed that the US would send Ukraine 31 Abrams tanks. Thus, after weeks of...
Reflection of the main geopolitical actors in Moldovan TV news in November 2022
The study looked at how 12 countries, 4 international organisations and 11 foreign leaders from Europe, North America and Asia were covered in the news of 8 of the most popular TV channels. Each of the monitored subjects was given one point for each mention in the...
The image of international actors in Moldovan TV news
The WatchDog.MD Community launched an initiative in 2022 to monitor the coverage of international issues in TV news in Moldova. The effort is supported by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) under the project “Strengthening the quality and information capacity...
Case study. Is Romania joining Schengen?
When will Romania join the Schengen area? It is a question that, in December 2022, seemed to find a positive solution in the shortest possible time. Events have kept the entire European community in suspense, and will bring essential changes first and foremost in the...
Implementation of the Istanbul Convention: A follow-up
The Republic of Moldova has ratified the Istanbul Convention through Law No 144 of 14th of October 2021, making it the 35th state to do so. The Istanbul Convention is a recent legal development in Europe aimed at protecting female victims of violence. Article 1 of the...
Case study. “DIRTY BOMB” – WORLDWIDE FAKE: how was it reflected by the Moldovan media?
The subject of the "dirty bomb", which Russia has claimed Ukraine possesses and intends to use it to launch an anti-Russian campaign, was quickly denied by the international community. It branded the accusations as false and without factual support. However, the main...