During the government crisis in the spring of 2026, TikTok became one of the main platforms on which political messages were massively circulated, and data from the latest report by Expert Forum, the Center for Democracy and Good Governance and independent computer science researchers indicate the presence of artificial amplification mechanisms.
The report, which analyzed 23,599 viral political videos published between January and May 2026, speaks of the existence of coordinated amplification networks, fake accounts and campaigns built to exploit negative emotions and public distrust.
From April 1 to May 11, 2026, the monitored videos generated more than 101 million views, nearly 830,000 shares and tens of thousands of comments. According to the research, more than half of the analyzed comments were identical, and more than 53% of the followers of the monitored accounts came from inactive accounts.
The expert in communication strategies Radu Delicote explains for “The Truth” that the phenomenon can no longer be seen only as classic propaganda moved to the Internet, but as a form of manipulation adapted to algorithms and psychographic targeting.
“Obviously we’re talking about algorithms. We’re talking about TikTok algorithms, but not only that. And Instagram and Facebook’s algorithms, each of the three networks has different recipes for amplifying the message. The moment the algorithm identifies content that can generate reaction and emotion, it amplifies it. It doesn’t have the cognitive ability to distinguish whether the message is true, manipulative, or fake. It’s built to sell.” he explains.
According to Delicote, in periods of electoral or political tension, the degree of coordination of these campaigns reaches “a 9 or 10 on a scale of 1 to 10”.
“Voting is emotional”
The report shows that most of the messages distributed massively during the analyzed period had anti-EU, anti-government and anti-system themes, and among the main targets were President Nicușor Dan, former Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, USR, the European Union, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova.
Radu Delicote says that the success of these messages comes from the way they exploit fear and mistrust.
“Voting is emotional. There is nothing rational about putting your stamp on one candidate or another. Everything is emotional. And the best selling emotions are the negative ones, mainly fear and all the forms derived from it: mistrust, lack of belonging, the feeling that someone is taking something from you”says the specialist.
It compares how online manipulation works with “a drill that goes into the wall extremely easily”, explaining that messages built on anxiety and conflict succeed in quickly mobilizing the electorate.
One of the most frequent narratives shared on TikTok was the idea that Romania is economically exploited by the European Union and that the country’s resources are “stolen” or “ceded” by pro-European politicians, the report also shows. The authors of the research note that the European SAFE program was one of the main targets of these campaigns, being repeatedly presented as a mechanism of economic control and indebtedness.
How the new online propaganda works
Radu Delicote claims that propaganda has been using the same recipes for years, but the novelty lies in the way algorithms personalize messages for each audience category.
“We are no longer talking about classic propaganda. The recipes are the same: you need a common enemy, you need to amplify negative emotions and create a motivational factor. The difference is the level of targeting. Today, the algorithm distinguishes between you and your friend, between you and your brother, depending on the values, habits and vulnerabilities of each. You receive one type of message, he receives another”he clarifies.
According to the document, viral content on TikTok is picked up and amplified in TV shows or podcasts with sovereignist discourse, after which it returns online through new distributions and reinterpretations.
“Romania is very vulnerable”
Asked how vulnerable the Romanian public is to such campaigns, Radu Delicote is of the opinion that Romania is in a fragile position both because of the very high consumption of social media and because of the low level of education.
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“We are a country that adopted TikTok faster than it solved many of its structural problems. Romanians are more willing to stay on the phone than to exceed their standard of living. And the lack of education is the most powerful weapon used at the moment”, he states.
In his opinion, many users do not realize that they are exposed to manipulation and perceive the messages received as genuine or constructed in their interest.
The report also shows that nearly a quarter of the accounts analyzed had characteristics typical of automated accounts: they had no published content, no descriptions, and an unusual ratio of followers to followed accounts.
Two accounts analyzed by specialists – “breakingtiktok78” and “live1977” – amassed millions of views in just a few weeks, posting hundreds or even thousands of videos with anti-government and pro-AUR messages.
“TikTok is the arena”
Delicote says that TikTok is not only the platform these campaigns run on, but also the space where algorithms amplify them.
“TikTok is the arena. It’s the algorithms that push and amplify the messages. That’s how all social media platforms work”he states.
At the same time, the report also invokes the obligations imposed on digital platforms by the Digital Services Act, the European regulation that obliges large platforms to monitor and reduce systemic risks, including the coordinated manipulation and artificial amplification of political content. And the authors claim that these obligations are applied inconsistently and that the reactions of the platforms appear especially during electoral periods or after major public scandals.
“The Romanian state does not understand the phenomenon”
Radu Delicote believes that the Romanian institutions do not have the necessary tools to effectively combat these campaigns.
“The Romanian state is very reactive and very slow. There are many actors who do not understand the phenomenon and do not understand the online environment. We have almost non-existent legislation and completely unadapted to the reality in which we live”he says.
He also mentions the fake campaigns in which the names of some politicians were used to promote fictitious investments.
“There were campaigns in which Marcel Ciolacu or Sebastian Burduja appeared promoting false investments related to Hidroelectrica. We had no real investigations and no identified responsible parties”, Delicote confesses.
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The Expert Forum report calls for legislative changes on online political advertising, clearer rules for digital campaign financing and the development of a permanent mechanism to monitor online manipulation.
Among the proposals included in the document is the creation of a Romanian STRATCOM – a civil strategic communication structure, built in collaboration with universities, journalists and independent organizations.
“Distrust is the most effective weapon”
The main vulnerabilities exploited in these campaigns are the lack of trust in institutions and the feeling of social abandonment.
“Romanian society no longer has real political models to refer to. Trust in political leaders is very low. And when this trust vacuum appears, mistrust becomes an extremely effective weapon for manipulation”says Radu Delicote.
He warns that the effects are not limited to elections, but can also fuel wider forms of social instability, precisely because they rely on negative emotions, conflict and the feeling that the individual no longer belongs to a coherent social ensemble.
“There is a risk of social destabilization, because we are talking about manipulation through negative emotion. People become more prone to position themselves against social norms and are easier to push in one direction or another”he points out.
