Troll, bot farms present in Romania but do not pose threat, Romanian Intelligence Service says

Romania’s internal intelligence service SRI has confirmed the presence of troll farms, bots, and fake accounts in the country, but states that the phenomenon does not pose a threat to national security. The statement comes after a presidential candidate was accused of running such networks to his own benefit.

The service also denied any foreign involvement in manipulating the electoral campaign, according to a response given to the parliamentary oversight committee.

“So far, no specific elements have been identified that indicate propaganda or disinformation campaigns orchestrated by hostile foreign actors against Romania,” SRI said.

Troll and bot farms are used to boost the popularity of certain candidates or to attack their opponents. In Romania, they are active through fake accounts on social media, where they disparage rival candidates.

“Given the limited reach and interaction of the content generated by the active fake accounts, national security has not been impacted. The gathered information has been forwarded to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for appropriate handling,” the service concludes.

SRI also said that fake accounts may be removed if the terms of use of social media platforms were breached.

The discussion around bot farms was sparked last month, when Mircea Geoană, an independent candidate in the upcoming presidential elections in Romania, was accused by two other candidates, including current prime minister Marcel Ciolacu, of running a bot farm to his benefit. Another presidential candidate, Elena Lasconi, said that Geoană had met with a well-known leader of hackers.

Mircea Geoană, who topped opinion polls in the summer but has since fallen in support behind the current PM, denied any wrongdoing.

Other institutions took matters in their own hands. Last week, Romania’s Digitalization Ministry announced that, in collaboration with Meta and other platforms, it blocked dozens of accounts created by organized networks attempting to promote a specific candidate in the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

Romania’s presidential elections will take place on November 24, most likely followed by a second tour on December 8.

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