ASSESSMENT PERIOD:
MARCH 1 – MARCH 31, 2025
AUTHOR : ANDREI RUSU
CO – AUTHOR : ANDREI CURĂRARU
Between March 1–30, the Russian Federation, through fugitive oligarchs Ilan Shor and Veaceslav Platon, placed 329 ads on META platforms, amounting to €7,532.
Just like last month, we note that both Ilan Shor and Veaceslav Platon have significantly reduced their budgets for promoting posts aimed at manipulating public opinion. They have also shortened the ad durations—from 7 days to 2–3 days or even just a few hours. During the monitored period, we observed that Ilan Shor significantly increased the number of ads compared to last year. At the same time, Veaceslav Platon reduced the number of Facebook sponsorships, and on the YouTube platform, he stopped advertising altogether after the presidential election campaign ended.
In addition to these two oligarchs, former Prime Minister Vlad Filat has also started promoting various manipulative posts through paid ads. Through these sponsored posts, Vlad Filat launches attacks on the current government, the European Union, civil society, and independent media.
All analyzed ads included the mandatory disclaimer for political and social topics. This allowed us to partially identify the investments made in ads placed on META. The transparency of these expenses is only possible when the page follows META’s rules and uses the necessary disclaimer for political and social ads. Ads running without a disclaimer disappear from META’s Ad Library, and during their circulation, the paid amount and duration are not publicly visible.
The main narratives sponsored by the fugitive oligarchs and Vlad Filat between March 1–30:
- The EU is no longer a democracy: The European Union is said to have lost its democratic values, with the voided elections in Romania cited as an example.
- Moldova will not become an EU member: Moldova is not ready to join the EU, and the current government has done nothing to advance this process.
- The EU is militarizing Moldova and wants to drag it into war: The military aid offered by the EU for the protection of Moldova’s airspace is portrayed as unhelpful. On the other hand, this support is said to involve Moldova in war.
- EU financial aid is indebting Moldova: The €1.9 billion financial support from the EU is promoted by pro-Russian politicians as a debt. According to them, Moldova will feel no benefit from this aid, and the money will be stolen by PAS.
- NGOs – the enemies of the people: NGOs are accused of stealing USAID funds meant for Moldova. Russian propaganda aims to portray civil society, independent media, and the current government as a bourgeois class that has impoverished the country.
- Moldova should not express an opinion on the war in Ukraine: Moldova should not take Ukraine’s side in order not to anger the Russian Federation.
These campaigns aim to undermine the pro-European path of the Republic of Moldova, destabilize the political climate, and erode trust in state institutions. As a consequence, the weak communication of the authorities and pro-European parties contributes to the diminishing trust in the country’s European direction. In the context of the upcoming parliamentary elections scheduled for 2025, the authorities, in collaboration with civil society, must intensify their efforts to counter disinformation by actively informing the public and urging digital platforms to prevent electoral interference.