Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Facebook used in operation to 'destabilise' Moldova government

Facebook used in operation to 'destabilise' Moldova government

Facebook has since removed the ads paid by the exiled oligarch Ilan Shor but experts believe they've managed to have an impact on Moldovan society

Facebook is again under fire for allowing a pro-Russian oligarch to run paid ads on their platform -- even after he had been sanctioned -- with the aim of destabilising the government of Moldova.

Ilan Shor, an opposition politician has been put on the US government’s sanctions list for trying to undermine Moldova on behalf of Russia back in October 2022.

Currently living in exile in Israel, he is implicated in a $1 billion theft from Moldovan banks in 2014.

In his paid ads on Facebook, Ilan Shor is frequently attempting to round up support for anti-government protests and accusing Maia Sandu, the pro-Western President of Moldova of corruption.

"This campaign goal's includes denigrating the European Union, the European integration plans of Moldova, and diminishing the role of this war started by Putin in the economic and social crisis in Moldova," explained Valeriu Pașa, the president of Watchdog Moldova.

But in 2021, Moldovans elected a pro-European government after years of Russia-friendly ruling politicians. In June 2022, Moldova was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine.

As a person under sanctions, Shor is not allowed to engage in any financial transactions with Facebook or any other US company.

But his team have found a loophole by buying Facebook pages from other countries such as Vietnam and then running ads through them for example.


An effective influence campaign


Last autumn, Moldova was rocked by a series of anti-government protests initiated by the Shor Party. Thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest against rising energy prices.

Most of the ads were ultimately removed by Facebook but not before they were watched millions of times in a small country with a population of about 2.6 million people.

According to Valeriu Pașa, Meta's (Facebook's parent company) slow response has had a detrimental impact on public opinion.

"We see some actions from Meta but the reactions are very slow and absolutely inefficient because the impact is done and all of these pages and people behind them, are still violating Facebook's own rules," he told Euronews.

"Meta is not doing enough to fight all this disinformation, which is very impactful in Moldova," he explained.

Meta promised to crack down on these influence campaigns in response to the war in Ukraine.

"We’ve established a special operations center staffed by experts from across the company, including native Russian and Ukrainian speakers, who are monitoring the platform around the clock, allowing us to respond to issues in real time," wrote the company in a statement.

But nothing in their policy update mentions Moldova. The Cube has reached out to Meta, a spokesperson emailed us back with a comment.

"We took away this sanctioned individual’s ability to advertise on our apps when he was added to the US sanctions list," said a Meta spokesperson via email.

"In response, we detected efforts to use other Pages and accounts in an attempt to amplify his content. We took them down as a result of our own internal detection and also tip-offs by civil society in Moldova. We know that malicious actors like this are persistent and we’re continuing to monitor and take action."

Meanwhile, Moldovan NGOs like Watchdog.Md are pleading with Meta for more resources and staff to better monitor the situation.

Like many big tech firms based in the US, Meta has sometimes struggled to moderate content in languages other than English.

"What we are really asking for is at least one person to be in contact with independent NGOs in Moldova speaks Romanian and Russian, and who preferably knows a little bit about the regional context to help us improve the informational environment on Facebook," said Pașa.

"Meta is not the poorest company in the world, so I don't see why they can't hire one person to monitor content in Moldova."

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
EU Proposes Phasing Out Russian Oil and Gas by End of 2027 to End Energy Dependence
More Than 150,000 Followers for a Fictional Character: The New Influencers Are AI Creations
EU Prepares for War
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Big Tech Executives Laud Trump at White House Dinner, Unveil Massive U.S. Investments
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
‘Looks Like a Wig’: Online Users Express Concern Over Kate Middleton
Florida’s Vaccine Revolution: DeSantis Declares War on Mandates
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
"The Situation Has Never Been This Bad": The Fall of PepsiCo
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
The Fashion Designer Who Became an Italian Symbol: Giorgio Armani Has Died at 91
Putin Celebrates ‘Unprecedentedly High’ Ties with China as Gazprom Seals Power of Siberia-2 Deal
China Unveils New Weapons in Grand Military Parade as Xi Hosts Putin and Kim
Rapper Cardi B Cleared of Liability in Los Angeles Civil Assault Trial
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Druzhba Pipeline Incident Sparks Geopolitical Tensions
Cost of Opposition Leader Péter Magyar's Economic Plan Revealed
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Budapest Central European Fashion Week Kicks Off
U.S. Celebrates Labor Day
Hungarian National Team Captain Scores Epic Goal
×