Facebook had its role in promoting Romania's pro-Russian presidential candidate, report shows
<p>Meta Platforms Inc. allowed a network of Facebook pages to post more than 4,100 political ads attacking Romania's pro-EU presidential candidate Elena Lasconi and promoting far-right figures, including Călin Georgescu, in the run-up to the country's elections, a report says, according to a <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-09/covert-facebook-network-found-to-be-targeting-romanian-voters" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> investigation.</p>

<p>The campaign was run on 25 apparently separate Facebook pages for entities whose websites shared hosting, advertising, and email infrastructure, indicating an organized effort to influence the election, according to a report by digital threat research groups Reset Tech and Check First.</p>

<p>It is unclear who was behind the network, which boosted political posts on Facebook and Instagram with advertising spend of up to EUR 264,909 (USD 279,610), according to the report.</p>

<p><em>iulian@romania-insider.com</em></p>

<p><em>(Photo source: <a href="https://www.dreamstime.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Cammeraydave/Dreamstime.com</a>)</em></p>