Media investigation shows Russian money for Romanian conspiracists

Digital advertising firm AdNow, reportedly tied to the Kremlin, channeled at least EUR 2 mln into Romanian media and influencers promoting conspiratorial and far-right content between 2016 and 2024, according to financial documents obtained by investigative platform Snoop from the Romanian Tax Office.

Beneficiaries include websites of television stations such as Romania TV and Realitatea Plus, as well as extreme right-wing publications and influencers.

The investigation aims to establish the mechanism that propelled unknown presidential candidate Calin Georgescu, but also the new political party, POT (Party of Young People), in the recent presidential and parliamentary elections without an open pro-Russian rhetoric that would have reached resistance.

AdNow was born in the same London house as a Russian state hacking firm GRU, a firm of a cousin of Vladimir Putin, and other companies with ties to the Kremlin. It was allegedly involved in spreading vaccine misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the shutdown of hundreds of Facebook and Instagram pages under its control.

Many of these narratives have resurfaced in the rhetoric of Călin Georgescu, the Romanian presidential hopeful, and the far-right POT party – which made it to the Parliament with a score higher than that of the ethnic Hungarian party UDMR.

AdNow’s influence persists, with Romanian websites and social media platforms recording over 440 million impressions in the last month alone from advertisements promoting natural treatments and online scams, Snoop said. Prominent Romanian bloggers and influencers have continued to share propaganda aligned with pro-Georgescu and far-right agendas.

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