A pair of bipartisan senators is urging Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to stop Russian affect operations on his social media platforms associated to Moldova’s parliamentary elections set for September 28.
The bipartisan letter highlights Russia’s continued menace and evolving techniques in working to sway the result of international elections, significantly in democratic, former Soviet states, as Moscow continues its conflict towards Ukraine.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), the rating member of the Senate Overseas Relations Committee, and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) acknowledged Meta’s engagement with Moldova’s Central Election Fee in June and urged continued cooperation.
“We urge you to remain engaged with the CEC and devote sufficient resources to prevent Russian-backed disinformation and political financing from accessing your platforms during the pre-election period in Moldova,” the senators wrote.
“Engagement during the pre-election period is critical to ensure that elections are not just free, but also fair.”
Moldova, a tiny nation bordering Romania and Ukraine with a inhabitants of some 2.4 million folks, is a goal for Russian affect operations. Russian forces keep an occupation of the tiny territory of Transnistria, and the Kremlin holds outsize political affect within the autonomous area of Gagauzia – each in Moldova.
The parliamentary elections are extremely consequential, as Russia seems to be to assist pro-Kremlin events acquire a majority and upset the nation’s trajectory in the direction of becoming a member of the European Union.
Russia sought to sway Moldova’s October presidential elections and kill a referendum in favor of becoming a member of the European Union, utilizing propaganda, media manipulation, and bribery. Fb and Instagram, social media networks owned by Meta, had been seen as significantly susceptible to Russian malign exercise.
The referendum narrowly got here out in favor of EU integration, and the pro-Western presidential candidate Maia Sandu was re-elected, with votes from Moldova’s diaspora neighborhood closely influencing the result.
Forward of the October 2024 polls, Meta introduced that it had taken down a community on Fb and Instagram focusing on Russian-speaking audiences in Moldova. This community promoted criticism of Sandu and pro-EU politicians, boosted pro-Russia events and posted about providing cash and giveaways for follows and likes. The pretend accounts referenced exiled oligarch Ilan Shor, who can also be sanctioned by the U.S., and his occasion, which Moldovan authorities cost as being the principle drivers of Russia’s affect marketing campaign.
Moldovan police accused Shor of finishing up a $39 million vote-buying scheme to affect the October elections.
“Russia’s attempt at interference in Moldova’s 2024 presidential election and referendum on European Union membership previewed the Kremlin tactics, which should inform our efforts ahead of the upcoming elections in September,” the senators wrote.
“We urge you to do everything in your power to ensure that he cannot continue to use your platforms to spread propaganda.”
