A Web of Conspiracies: Romanian Election Conspiracy Theories Resort to Antisemitism

A series of conspiracies surrounding the results of the Romanian elections lead to George Soros in a campaign that has elements of antisemitism. LetsData identified a wave of publications in Romania and the Republic of Moldova that tried to explain the loss of the anti-EU candidate through a trove of conspiracies. This article relies mainly on public data gathered by LetsData one week before and one week after the Romanian election on May 18th*, but older or newer social media posts or political declarations have been included for additional context. 

This article is not a comprehensive study and only follows a single family or web of conspiracy claims (Soros manipulated Macron and Sandu for the benefit of the Sorosist President Dan, who is also a Jew). These are used to subvert trust in Romanian elections in 2025 but also to influence Moldovan infospace as a new election round approaches. Nevertheless, several other salient points emerged

• Such conspiracies tend to be spread by actors who also support pro-Russian and/or Eurosceptic positions.

• Elements of the conspiracies were present weeks before the elections, thus weeks before any manipulation could actually occur.

• Antisemitism: while Soros conspiracies are inherently antisemitic, the antisemitism of these conspiracies has become even more clear after the elections, when President Nicușor Dan was accused of being a Jew and, thus, alien from the nation and the (Christian-Orthodox) religion.

• These openly antisemitic positions come from accounts that are less prominent, and it is possible they represent more organic reactions from minor actors or simple victims of information operations that have been primed with implicit antisemitism.

• Beyond social media: while in the previous (cancelled) elections of 2024 it seemed to be all about social media, the surprise in our findings in 2025 was the significant role of known politicians in promoting Soros conspiracies: These include Moldova’s Vlad Filat (former PM), Igor Dodon (party president), Natalia Morari (politician/journalist), Ilan Șor (emigrated politician) or Victoria Furtună (party president) and Romania’s Rareș Bogdan (EU affiliation: EPP) or Cozmin Gușă (openly pro-Russian politician and media owner who re-affirmed his support for Russia soon after the elections).

• An interesting pattern was the information flow back and forth across the border. Typically, Moldovan sources (Victoria Furtună, Natalia Morari) were quoted by media close to pro-Russian Romanian politician and owner Cozmin Gușă (Realitatea Plus, GoldFM) and then quoted back by lesser-known actors in the Moldovan infospace.

Electoral context

The clear victory of Nicușor Dan—a soft-spoken, somewhat geeky mathematician—in the second round of the Romanian presidential elections on May 18th came as a surprise to many observers. After all, in the first round, he had barely secured 21% of the vote and lacked the support of a powerful party machine going into the runoff.

In the second round of the presidential election, Nicușor Dan received 6.1 million votes (54%), compared to George Simion, who garnered 5.3 million votes (46%). In the visualization above, from the Romanian Permanent Electoral Authority, the votes cast abroad are overlayed with diagonal white stripes. (Source: Permanent Electoral Authority)

Dan was supported by voters from urban areas, who were afraid of losing their connection to Europe, pro-European Moldovans with dual citizenship who could access the EU labor market with their Romanian passport, and, arguably, conservative elderly voters of the traditional parties who did not want to rock the boat. 

His losing opponent, George Simion from the Alliance for Romanian Unity, is a far-right populist leader, highly critical of Ukraine, ambiguous about the Russian invasion, critical of the EU, and an opponent of Moldovan statehood (he promotes unification with Romania). His speech has been occasionally perceived as threatening, and his party has done acts of intimidation in the Romanian Parliament (examples). His political base (including rural and diaspora voters) tend to have lost or at least to have gained less than the average from Romania’s economic growth. More demographic data here en, ro.

A web of conspiracies

Fortunately for incredulous voters seeking alternative explanations, far-right and pro-Russian actors in Romania and Moldova had already prepared an intricate web of conspiracy theories claiming that the elections would be illegally overthrown. Such claims became more specific during the elections and in the days immediately after, when core points were supported by the losing candidate himself. On the evening of the elections, George Simion claimed victory despite exit polls; then he changed his mind and conceded defeat; then he claimed victory again and accused massive electoral fraud. “Proofs” included a declaration of Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, that he has been pressured by French secret services to censor “conservatives” and unfounded claims that Moldovan citizens were bused to Romania to vote for a second time.

But Simion’s official declarations came against the background of a larger web. At the top of this imagined cabal was, unsurprisingly, George Soros. His supposed main agent is French President Emmanuel Macron, who is accused of pressuring Pavel Durov. 

Another key figure in these conspiracies is Maia Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, a Romanian citizen and a public supporter of Nicușor Dan. She is portrayed either as an independent follower of Soros or as a subordinate to Macron. Her actions, supposedly supported by Moldovan state institutions and the ruling party, are said to have artificially inflated Nicușor Dan’s score among Romanian citizens in Moldova to an “unnatural” 85% (compared to ~45% in the broader Romanian diaspora).

To crown these allegations, Nicușor Dan himself has become the target of antisemitic accusations, with claims that he is Jewish and therefore “alien” to the Romanian people. 

Naturally, these allegations are patently absurd. The Soros Foundation—later called the Open Society Foundations—withdrew from Romania years ago, and there is little reason to believe that George Soros retains any significant interest in Romanian affairs. Pavel Durov himself has never claimed to censor political content on Telegram, only that he has been asked to do so. As for voting patterns in Moldova, they are more plausibly explained by the fact that many Moldovan citizens hold Romanian passports, granting them the right to work across the European Union.

George Simion is a highly controversial, if not outright despised, figure in Moldova. His numerous provocative actions—ostensibly aimed at promoting Romanian-Moldovan unification under a single state—have been so extreme that many pro-unification supporters in the Republic view them as counterproductive provocations.

Finally, the idea of transporting Moldovan citizens across the border to vote in Romania is nonsensical. Romania’s digital voter registration system logs each voter in real time at every polling station, specifically to prevent double voting. Crossing a national border does not make electoral fraud easier—it makes it significantly harder.

Meet the “conspirators”

The web of conspiracies that we analyze in this article is not to be found in a single canonical form, including all elements. Rather, bits and pieces, all supporting Simion or giving credence to his narratives, are promoted through diverse channels and for diverse purposes. When put together, these narratives form a coherent picture. We can start from the image of George Soros as a puppet master, which is inherently antisemitic. His purported minions form some kind of hierarchy with French president Macron on top, influencing Romanian elections through the French secret services and, separately through Moldovan president Maia Sandu, all for the benefit of Nicușor Dan who, like Soros, is purportedly a Jew.

In this secton we have noted the country and the language of the perpetrators of these messages as (country-language). Main categories include Romanian speakers in Romania (ro-ro), who are typically far-right actors hostile towards Ukraine and ambivalent or supportive of the Russian invasion. In Moldova, we have Russian-speaking (md-ru) or Romanian-speaking (md-ro) actors who generally support the Russian position or are instrumentalizing this conspiracy for their own purposes.

According to conspiratorial voices, in some way, shape, or form, every pro-Western actor answers to Soros, be they French, Moldovan, Romanian, or, why not, German.

• “3 big "State Actors" have rigged the elections in Romania: France of Soros Macron, Moldova of Maia Soros Sandu and the Sorosist System of Romania.” Truth for Life /Adevărul pentru Viață (ro-ro) , Facebook, May 20th

• “Everyone who went through 'Soros School' is a Soros client. These include Sandu, Macron, Scholtz, and other punks”, comment in Гражданин 🇲🇩 (md-ru), Telegram, May 13th

However, President Macron plays a major role. Alongside Soros, he is a co-puppeteer of Nicușor Dan, and of Maia Sandu. We can see below how the connection Macron-Sandu-Dan is supported not just by random accounts but by known politicians like Vlad Filat in Moldova and Rareș Bogdan in Romania.

• “Romanians finally have the chance to choose between sovereignty (Simion) and Soros / Macron puppet”, Triunghiul Basarabean (md-ro), deleted comment on Telegram, May 6th 

• “Romania took money, oil and gas from the state reserve for Maia Soros Sandu, so that she could call Macron and ask for support for Nicușor Dan,” Romanian politician Rareș Bogdan (EPP), quoted by Moldova Telegraph (md-ro), Telegram, May 6th

• The decision to support Nicușor Dan “would not be motivated by political convictions or real support for the candidate Nicușor Dan, but by directives coming ‘on the orders of Emmanuel Macron’ and the ‘European Sorosist’ movement”, Vlad Filat (md-ro), quoted in web media, May 5th

The ‘European Sorosist Movement’ likely refers to Ursula von der Leyen, a former star of conspiracies that appears now more rarely

• “It is Ursula's plan. Use all the puppies, Maia Sandu Soros, Bolojan, Ciolacu, now followed Mucușor [Dan], a new servant for Brussels.”, Romanian MP Dumitru Viorel Focșa (ro-ro), Facebook, May 25

Maia Sandu also appears as a more autonomous actor, accused of being paid (directly?) by Soros and acting without obvious coordination in Romania. Soros is added to her family name in Moldovan Telegram to make sure the association is not missed.

• Down with Maia Sandu! Down with PAS! They don't know what honest work is because Soros pays them. They live well, at our expense.”, Партия социалистов РМ (md-ru), Telegram, May 1st

• “The black man** of the day,” Maia Sandu Soros. (...) In Moldova, President Maia is involved in the Romanian election.” Radio Gold FM (ro-ro), TikTok, May 12th. The video also quotes Moldovan politician media personality Natalia Morari

• “The Romanian people have the sacred right to choose their own destiny, (…) and Maia Sandu elected through external fraud (…) has transported voters in Moldova at the command of the criminal networks of Soros and USAID.”, Moldovan politician Victoria Furtună, quoted by Romanian TV station Realitatea Plus (ro-ro) and then by account diverse663 (md-ro) on TikTok, May 17th

Nicușor Dan, the beneficiary of this conspiracy, is himself a “Sorosist” in the vision of conspiratorial voices. Particularly in Romania, and after the elections, he is also described by some as a jew.

• “How can he say "so help me God" when he's Jewish????? Who allowed him to do this must answer! He can't do such blasphemy, when the whole country knows he's a Jew!” Diacu Marius (ro-ro), Facebook, May 28th

• “All of you who kissed church doors [are religious] and voted for this [Nicușor Dan], how do you feel now? A Jewish bastard who ignores the patriarch of our Orthodox Church.” Ionel Matache (ro-ro), Facebook, May 10th***.
  
  

• “Rabi trabi will drive us sad. Thank what you for your vote”, Stăniș Nicușor (ro-ro), Facebook, May 26th  

While previous elements of the web came from known politicians or pro-Russian channels, this last stage, where Nicușor Dan is labelled as a Jew, comes from lesser-known accounts and may be partly organic, from actors frustrated with the fact that their chosen candidate.

Allegations

Internal vote manipulation. Weeks before the elections, George Simion announced that future fraud would be made by improper maintenance of electoral lists. While the problem is real and known, there is no proof that it has ever favoured fraud, and Simion himself had nothing to comment on in previous elections. This particular conspiracy is not as closely related to Soros, but, as we have seen in previous sections, Ilie Bolojan (interim president of Romania at the time) is also named as a Sorosist conspirator. After the elections, new claims were added that votes had been mysteriously “moved” from George Simion to Nicușor Dan.

• “AUR [Simion’s party] publicly denounces one of the most serious systemic frauds tolerated by the Romanian state in recent decades: keeping deceased persons on the permanent electoral lists”, George Simion, quoted in mainstream publication România Liberă (ro-ro), Facebook, May 1st

•  “EXPERTISE OF THE STS SOFTWARE ON VOTING REGISTRATION BY AN INDEPENDENT ORGANISM CERTIFIED BY THE USA. Specifically, it is alleged that the votes were moved from GS to ND and that in fact the difference was exactly the opposite in favor of GS, writes ActiveNews.” Truth for Life/Adevarul pentru viata (ro-ro), Facebook, May 20th 

The Moldovan connection

Days before the election, Moldova and Maia Sandu were accused of further interference. This is because Maia Sandu had shown her support for Nicușor Dan. Once Nicușor Dan had, his victory was declared fraudulent by many Moldovan pro-Russian actors and presented as a cautionary tale for the upcoming Moldovan elections

• “George Simion today at noon publicly accused the government of the Republic of Moldova of fraud in the elections! We need your help and the help of the other opponents of Sorosists in Chisinau to document the frauds!”, omment on “Balkan Centre” (md-ru),  Telegram , May 15th

•  “The Presidential candidate noted that his party, AUR, had received information about the transport of voters from Moldova with Romanian citizenship.”Sputnik Молдова 2.0🇲🇩 (md-ru), Telegram, May 18th

•  “Ilan Șor: "The West repeated a fraudulent stunt in the Romanian elections. This scheme is also being prepared for Moldova,” Gagauznews — Новости для Гагаузии (md-ru), Telegram, May 19th

The French connection

While Macron is accused of being behind Maia Sandu’s actions, he is also accused more directly using French secret services to pressure Telegram CEO Pavel Durov into censoring “conservatives” during Romanian elections.

• Pavel Durov refused to allow unnamed representatives of the government of a European country (…) who asked Telegram to silence conservatives in Romania in the run-up to today's presidential election. "I categorically refused. Telegram will not restrict the freedom of Romanian users or block their political channel." , Молдавский пистон (md-ru), Telegram, May 18

This accusation was leveraged by Simion in a complaint to the Romanian constitutional court, going as far as asking for a hearing of Durov in front of the Court through videoconferencing. But it is also strongly amplified by Moldovan malign (typically pro-Russian) actors: thus, during the two weeks (before and after elections) they mention Durov in connection with Romania in almost 400 posts gathering more than 700 000 (non-unique) views. A typical narrative is that “Moldova is next”, framing Moldova, Romania and Ukraine as a prime target for French interference.

• “Pavel Durov: French intelligence is interested in Moldova. France's foreign intelligence, under the pretext of fighting terrorism and child pornography, has shown interest in Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine. "Franz's external intelligence confirmed that they met with me, allegedly to combat terrorism and child pornography. In fact, child pornography wasn't even mentioned. They wanted the IP addresses of terrorist suspects in France, but their focus has always been on geopolitics: Romania, Moldova, Ukraine," Durov wrote. (…) The French conflict is on the rise, as Durov explicitly stated that the Chișinău (and thus the Moldovan elections) are part of the basic interests of Paris. The charges of Durova were supported by Ilon Musk and the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Maria Zakharova. Musk ecstatically shared Durov's post on X, Zakharova pointed to some "gross violation of freedom of expression and human rights in France". In Chechnya, on the other hand, the official authorities ignored Durov's messages” Ящик Пандоры (md-ru), Telegram, May 20, 2025.

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Overall, Romanian presidential elections appear as the target of a sprawling, antisemitic conspiracy theory ecosystem linking pro-Russian and far-right voices in Romania and Moldova. At its heart lies the figure of George Soros, accused of orchestrating electoral fraud through a hierarchy of global proxies—Macron, Sandu, and ultimately Nicușor Dan (who is attacked both as a Soros agent and a Jew). These narratives aim to delegitimize Dan’s victory, fuel distrust in democratic institutions, and preemptively sow doubt in Moldova’s upcoming elections.

* In Moldova, we had access to a wide range of traditional (web-published) and social media, including Telegram, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, while in Romania, we only collected data for Facebook and YouTube, and in the temporarily occupied territories in Ukraine, the data comes mostly from Telegram and YouTube.

Due to the variety and heterogeneity of the data collection methods, we do not try to quantify the spread of a specific family of conspiracy theories across borders but rather to trace alignment between Russian actors operating openly in Moldova and Ukraine versus more ambivalent far-right actors in Romania.

The data processing behind this article used lists from GlobalFocus and ExpertForum for initial source discovery.

Some of the posts and comments of private citizens have been anonymized.

** In the sense of malign person. It is a common expression in Romanian.

*** There were misleading videos claiming that Dan did not salute the leader of the Romanian Orthodox church during the official swearing in ceremony.