Romania seeks to suspend TikTok after shock win by ultranationalist candidate
The Guardian|November 28, 2024
Romania's telecoms regulator is asking for TikTok to be suspended as the country's defence council prepares to discuss cyber risks to its elections, after a little-known ultranationalist came from nowhere to win the first round of the presidential vote.
Jon Henley
Romania seeks to suspend TikTok after shock win by ultranationalist candidate

The country's constitutional court will also examine two allegations of electoral fraud after Călin Georgescu, a Moscow-friendly, EU-sceptic and anti-NATO independent, topped the ballot in a result that upended Romanian politics.

Georgescu was polling at barely 5% days before Sunday's vote but surged to a shock victory with a campaign heavily based on viral TikTok videos that were reportedly boosted by bot-like activity, raising fears of possible external interference.

The far-right candidate, who has claimed NATO would never help Romania and called for an end to the war in Ukraine, scored almost 23% and will face the pro-EU centrist Elena Lasconi in the second round on 8 December after parliamentary elections on Sunday.

This story is from the November 28, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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This story is from the November 28, 2024 edition of The Guardian.

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