The election result was not only a bombshell in Romania: the previously largely unknown presidential candidate Calin Georgescu does not belong to any political party, only appeared in all opinion polls and did not take part in any of the major television debates before the election of the Romanian head of state. He was all the more present on social media – and especially on TikTok. His channel has 520,000 followers and 5.7 million likes.
Millions see him riding like Putin
Georgescu’s polarizing campaign videos on the platform were seen by millions. There he not only criticized established politicians – often with false statements of fact – but also portrayed himself as a judo fighter or riding a horse, just like his role model, Russian President Vladimir Putin. When Georgescu came out on top after the first round of voting, there was great surprise and horror. In the second round of the election next Sunday (November 8th, 2024), a conspiracy theorist, NATO critic and Putin friend could be elected president of the country.
According to many observers, social media platforms, especially TikTok, have played a large part in Georgescu’s success. The video platform is extremely popular, especially in Romania: of the 19 million inhabitants, around nine million use it – mainly young people.
Did Georgescu prefer TikTok?
Although other Romanian top politicians are also on TikTok, no one has been able to reach nearly as many people as Georgescu. The result: Almost a third of 18 to 24 year olds voted for him – regardless of his crude theories, such as that the moon landing in 1969 was faked.
The Romanian electoral authority then accused TikTok of having given Georgescu advantages. Before the election, she had instructed the platform that the candidates identify themselves as such and disclose their sources of funding. In the case of Georgescu, TikTok did not enforce this regulation and thus favored him over other candidates, the authority complains. Romania’s media regulator therefore called on the EU to to launch an investigation into TikTok.
TikTok: There was no influence
TikTok itself denied all allegations and pointed out that it had removed tens of thousands of fake accounts and millions of fake likes and followers. Furthermore, no signs of covert influence from Romania itself or from abroad were discovered.
The German communications scientist and TikTok expert Marcus Bösch sees this as a clear contradiction: “How can it be that a number of accounts and likes have been removed even though there were no signs of influence?” he told DW.
“Extreme views become normal”
For US linguist Adam Aleksic, the main problem lies in the algorithms of modern social platforms, which are no longer determined by the principle of followers. Put simply, this means that I no longer see the posts of those I follow, but of those who shout the loudest.
In a post for “User Mag”writes Aleksic: “Algorithms use engagement as a measure of virality, and misinformation tends to lead to more engagement. Claims that Haitians eat pets will provoke the extreme reactions required for virality. Even attempts to correct these falsehoods can paradoxically come across as additional commitment can be valued.”
Details, accuracy and nuances were lost and extreme views were normalized.
TikTok is the “app of the hour”
According to Bösch, the main problem is that TikTok is used by a lot of people, while strong independent media brands are increasingly disappearing. However, this is not just a problem for TikTok, but one for all social platforms.
“TikTok is the ‘app of the hour’, which means that many topics and trends can then be found on other platforms,” Bösch continued. “Societies, politicians and platform operators must be aware that this threat and attempts to influence exist and will continue to exist and therefore be more resilient, prepared and ready to take countermeasures in the context of strategic communication.”
