The presidential election in Romania is an important event that has been at the center of public interest.

TikTok, committed to ensuring the integrity of the platform, has tried to protect the community from misinformation and fake accounts.

As part of this commitment, he closely monitored developments and worked intensively to guarantee a transparent and credible electoral process.

Across the European Union, it employs more than 6,000 professionals who are dedicated to keeping our platform safe, while constantly improving its policies and guidelines to prevent misinformation and impersonation.

Globally, this team is supported by tens of thousands of additional professionals and numerous fact-checking partners from Romania as well.

In recent weeks, it has detected and proactively removed several obfuscation networks.

At the same time, we prevented and removed tens of thousands of fake accounts and interactions, and banned hundreds of accounts impersonating presidential candidates.

Addressing Covert Influence Operations

“We prohibit covert influence peddling and remain on constant vigilance for any attempt to mislead and manipulate our platform. So far, we have recorded and removed more than 40 new cover-up networks, of which three were detected in Romania in the last months” he emphasizes and explains, in particular, how he is talking about:

  • A network of 22 accounts, based in Romania, that aimed to spread disinformation and promote anti-government narratives.
  • A network of 78 accounts, with 1,781 followers, to promote the candidate Kalin Gheorgescu on TikTok.
  • A network of 12 accounts with 1,704 followers, supporting the independent political candidate Mircea Geoana.

Meanwhile, in September 2024, Tik Tok took global action against a covert network linked to Sputnik Media. As a result, in November 2024, 11 accounts targeting audiences in Romania and Moldova were removed.

“So far, the networks we have identified targeting the Romanian elections are small-scale influence operations. We also carefully monitor off-platform activity so we can prevent them as well as other deceptive practices.”

Enhancing Transparency and Integrity

Already since last September, TikTok has prevented:

Almost 45 million fake likes
Over 27 million fake tracking requests
The creation of more than 400,000 spam accounts in Romania
In addition, removed:

Over 115,000 fake accounts
Over 7 million fake likes
More than 11 million fake followers
1,100 accounts impersonating presidential candidates

Political content is also prohibited in both paid and affiliate advertising content.

Additionally, content that is undeclared cooperative advertising content has been removed following requests or credible information from relevant regulatory authorities.

Cooperation with Authorities and Compliance with Legislation

TikTok remains committed to complying with the Digital Services Act and local laws. We regularly work with regional and national authorities, responding to requests and discussing concerns. We recently answered questions from legislators from the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee and continue to work closely with the European Commission.

TikTok’s Commitment to Integrity

The election task force will continue to protect the TikTok community in Romania by implementing the Community Guidelines so that users can safely express themselves on issues that matter to them. At the same time, we will continue to display reliable election information through the Election Center and related tags.