Romanian prosecutors have launched criminal proceedings against Călin Georgescu, the far-right populist who won the first round of Romania’s canceled presidential election last year, for spreading false information during the pre-election campaign.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Georgescu emerged as a front-runner last November, despite early public opinion surveys showing his support at less than one percent. Shortly before the first round of voting on November 24, his polling numbers had risen to between three and five percent—yet he still secured a surprise victory.
Much of Georgescu’s success can be attributed to social media. However, an investigation by Context, an OCCRP member center in Romania, found that his online campaign was amplified by bots and foreign accounts that promote Russian interests.
The election was canceled shortly before the second round due to irregularities in campaign financing. A new vote is scheduled for May, but it remains unclear whether Georgescu will run, as he is now under investigation for “incitement to actions against the constitutional order, spreading false information, and false declarations” related to campaign financing and asset disclosures.
Prosecutors have also accused Georgescu of “founding or supporting fascist, racist, xenophobic, or anti-Semitic organizations, as well as publicly promoting war criminals and extremist ideologies.”
As part of the legal proceedings, he has been banned from leaving Romania, carrying weapons, or using social media.
Georgescu was stopped in traffic by police acting on orders from the General Prosecutor’s Office, which later charged him with six criminal offenses.
His November victory alarmed many due to his past public statements. Before the election, the 62-year-old self-styled anti-establishment figure reportedly called Ukraine “an invented state” and expressed admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Romanian fascists.
During the campaign, social media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers—many appearing to be bots rather than real users—amplified his most controversial messages.
One post, for example, portrayed Georgescu as a whistleblower who had uncovered a secret network of pedophile oligarchs manipulating world events under the cover of the United Nations. That baseless claim was posted verbatim on ten different accounts on X, all previously used to promote Russian interests.
Software analysis of social media activity revealed that the post was viewed only three times, yet it generated at least 103,000 reactions—including likes and reposts—strongly suggesting bot activity.
