TikTok blocked nearly 100,000 fake accounts and 33,000 spam accounts in Romania in the second half of 2024 related to the country’s presidential elections.
In its latest transparency report, the company on Wednesday acknowledged the massive scale of online manipulation during the elections, which Romania cited as a reason for cancelling its presidential poll.
Beyond the elections, the social media platform removed 59 real accounts that violated political provisions from December 15 and December 30, 2024.
TikTok said it has hired a team of 99 Romanian-speaking moderators, with an additional 120 security, integrity and advertising experts deployed for the do-over of presidential elections in May.
TikTok also identified multiple disinformation networks operating from Romania.
In September 2024, it detected a group of 22 accounts targeting Romanian users with anti-government narratives. In November, it found a network of 78 accounts promoting far-right presidential candidate Călin Georgescu and 12 accounts amplifying content in favor of independent candidate Mircea Geoană.
By December, a large-scale operation involving 27,217 accounts was uncovered, linked to a fake engagement provider supporting the Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) party and Georgescu. Another network of 68 accounts was traced to Moldova, targeting Romanian diaspora communities.
Elsewhere, TikTok reported broader efforts to counter covert influence operations across Europe. In September 2024, it took global action against a network linked to Sputnik Media. In November, it removed 11 accounts believed to be associated with Sputnik Media, which were targeting audiences in Romania and Moldova.
TikTok stated that it continues to monitor for repeat fraud and disinformation and has published further details on its website regarding its actions against covert influence campaigns.
