Romania’s Supreme Defense Council to discuss online disinformation, president says

President Nicușor Dan announced Wednesday evening, June 11, that Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense (CSAT) will discuss how to tackle the rapid spread of disinformation online, emphasizing the need for swift responses to false narratives that circulate widely in just a matter of hours, News.ro reported.

Speaking in Odesa, Ukraine, Dan said the matter will be addressed at the next CSAT meeting, scheduled before the end of June.

“There will be a discussion in CSAT - either formally or informally - on this issue. We must be able to respond in terms of volume and speed. It’s pointless to react three hours later if, in that time, the false information has already reached three or four million people,” the president said.

At a previous CSAT meeting held on November 28, 2024, just days after the first round of the presidential elections, officials examined potential national security risks posed by both state and non-state cyber actors targeting Romanian IT and communications infrastructure. One of the key issues discussed was the alleged manipulation of TikTok algorithms in favor of candidate Călin Georgescu, who had surprisingly placed first in the initial round of voting.

Following that meeting, several intelligence reports from agencies, including the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SIE), were declassified.

On December 6, the Constitutional Court made a historic decision to annul the results of the first round of the presidential election and ordered the entire electoral process to be restarted, citing the seriousness of the irregularities uncovered.

Earlier this month, the Interior Ministry (MAI) and Defense Ministry (MApN) have warned of ongoing disinformation campaigns on social media aimed at manipulating public opinion. The latest wave of false claims included reports about the imposition of martial law and border closures, seeking to heighten public anxiety over the risk of war.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Sabin Cirstoveanu)