This policy paper aims to identify the main topics of misinformation in the Republic of Moldova and Romania, which formed the basis of a broad campaign to manipulate public interests and promote political or economic interests. The research offers the opportunity to deepen thematic analysis at a later stage. Also, an important stage in the elaboration of this analysis is the identification of the main actors that promote fake news to obtain more benefits, which distort, modify or influence the behavior of the public opinion.
The document starts from the hypothesis that although most of the themes and topics for the disinformation campaigns promoted in the two neighboring states seem to intersect or coincide, there are also particularities that require different approaches.
Deepening the issues of misinformation and their subsequent analysis will not only help to identify trends in manipulating public opinion by promoting deliberately distorted messages by different actors but will offer a platform to identify solutions or recommendations to support internal resilience to external propaganda or of misinformation for political purposes.
Authors: Angela Grămadă, Cătălin-Gabriel Done
This policy paper is elaborated within the project ”Protecting democratic values by tackling pandemic-related disinformation”, implemented by the Center for Policy Studies, Armenia, in implemented in cooperation with the Experts for Security and Global Affairs Association, Romania, and the Latvian Institute of International Affairs, Latvia, with the support of the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation, a project of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of the Black Sea Trust or its partners.
For more information about the Project findings please visit CENTRE FOR POLICY STUDIES, Armenia, web page