Radio România Internațional

Tag: disinformation

  • December 9, 2024 UPDATE

    December 9, 2024 UPDATE

    Defense Ministry – The Romanian Defense Ministry (MApN) signals new disinformation actions in the online environment, especially on the TikTok platform. According to the MApN portal, InfoRadar, Romania’s borders and port infrastructure are targeted. One of the posts falsely accredits the idea that Romania’s borders will be closed and secured with military personnel, and the other presents, without any connection with reality, military equipment that is not in the Romanian Army’s equipment as being concentrated in the Port of Constanța, this being evidence, as the authors of the disinformation claim, of war preparations. The Ministry specifies that all this information is false and that its communication structures will continue to report cases of disinformation of the public opinion as they are identified. The National Audiovisual Council and The National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications have notified the platforms Meta, TikTok, X and Google regarding their obligations in terms of combating disinformation, in accordance with the European regulation in the field.

     

    Syria – On Monday, the EU called for a ‘peaceful and orderly’ transition in Syria, after the removal of the Bashar al-Assad regime from power. The head of EU diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, underlined that it was essential to maintain the territorial integrity of Syria, to respect the independence, sovereignty and state institutions of this country and to reject all forms of extremism. The Russian state media reports that the ousted president of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, and his family are in Russia and have received political asylum. The coalition of Syrian rebels and local officials have announced that they are working to transfer power and rebuild Syria together. Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali has spoken publicly and has said he will remain in office until a new government is installed, that public institutions will be protected and that government officials must remain in office until a new government is formed. According to commentators, busy with the invasion of Ukraine, respectively with the conflict with Israel, Russia and Iran, the supporters of the Assad regime during the civil war of the last decade, have had no significant interventions against the rebels this time.

     

    Weather – In Romania, in the next 24 hours, temperatures ​​will be above the multi-annual averages specific to this date. The sky will be cloudy in the west, north and center of the country, and in the rest the clouds will be temporary. Light rainfalls will be reported in the center and northeast. There will be mixed precipitation in the mountain area and in the northern half of the country. The wind will blow moderately, with some intensification in the east and southeast. Maximum temperatures will range between 3 and 9 degrees Celsius. Meteorologists announce warmer weather than normal for this period throughout Romania, until January 6. Rain will be reported, especially in the first part of this interval, in the eastern, southern and intra-Carpathian regions, according to the four-week forecast issued by the National Meteorological Administration. The first month of winter is characterized by several phenomena, including snow, which, associated with intensification of the wind, will cause blizzards, quite often in the southern half and in the east.

     

    Arrest – Horaţiu Potra, a local councilor in the town of Mediaş (central Romania), known as the leader of a group of mercenaries that operated in Africa, was arrested, Sunday evening, by Romanian prosecutors. His arrest was confirmed by his lawyers, who say that the charges are public incitement and non-compliance with the weapons and ammunition regime, being related to the arsenal found by investigators and a post on Facebook. Several weapons and sums of money were found in a car, in traffic, in Prahova county (south), which transported Potra and another person, who were allegedly on their way to Bucharest. Currently, the Prahova county prosecutors and police are conducting other searches in Ilfov (south), Sibiu (center) and Bucharest. The searches take place in several buildings owned by Potra, as well as in other spaces where it is assumed that there were meetings between him and persons suspected of involvement in perpetrating these crimes. According to the information published in the press, Potra is allegedly a supporter and the one who coordinates the security of the nationalist politician Călin Georgescu, accused of connections with Russia. Winner of the first round of the presidential election on November 24, round which was later canceled by the Constitutional Court of Romania, Georgescu claims that he does not know Potra and that he only knows things about him from the press.

     

    Schengen  – Austria will not oppose Romania and Bulgaria becoming full members of the European Schengen free travel area, at the meeting of interior ministers that will take place on Thursday in Brussels, the Austrian APA agency reported on Monday, quoted by Reuters, citing Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner. We remind you that Romania and Bulgaria partially joined Schengen in March, by suspending air and sea border controls. Land border controls, however, remained in place due to opposition from Austria, motivated by Vienna’s concerns about illegal migration. Romania could thus enter the Schengen area 17 years after joining the European Union. (LS)

  • Major social networks and online disinformation

    Major social networks and online disinformation

               

    “Voters’ freedom to form an opinion is based on the right to get accurate information on candidates, therefore the involvement of state or non-state entities in propaganda or election disinformation campaigns must be eliminated,” the Constitutional Court said on Friday, in presenting the grounds for cancelling the presidential election in Romania.

    According to the information presented by the intelligence services to the Supreme Defence Council and subsequently declassified, “the main flaws concerning the process of electing the president of Romania in 2024 have to do with voter manipulation and with distorting equal opportunity for the election contenders, by means of un-transparent usage, against election laws, of digital technologies and artificial intelligence in the election campaign, as well as through online and other campaign financing from undeclared sources,” the Court also said.

    The target of all these accusations is the extremist, sovereigntist candidate Călin Georgescu, a Vladimir Putin admirer who reached the second round of the presidential ballot virtually out of the blue.

    As far back as in August, the National Communications Administration and regulatory Authority (ANCOM) and the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP) sent an official notification to the major online platforms, informing them of their obligations during the electoral process. The AEP then submitted notifications to TikTok on various irregularities, requesting measures to ensure the lawful conduct of the election campaign in Romania, but the platform failed to answer these requests promptly, ANCOM said.

    The National Audio-Visual Council and ANCOM also notified Meta, TikTok, X and Google of their obligations to combat disinformation, in line with the relevant EU regulation, and called for enhanced content moderation mechanisms.

    In spite of these calls and requests, the defence ministry warns that fresh online disinformation activities are reported, especially on TikTok. According to InfoRadar, an information portal run by the defence ministry to counter fake news, the new campaign focuses on Romania’s borders and port infrastructure.

    One of the posts claims that Romania will close its borders and secure them with troops, while another one falsely presents military equipment that the Romanian Army does not possess and claims that equipment is deployed in the port of Constanţa, allegedly in preparations for war.

    The ministry explains that this is false information and promises its communication structures will continue to warn against disinformation attempts as they are identified. (AMP)

  • June 22, 2024 UPDATE

    June 22, 2024 UPDATE

     

    WEATHER Weather experts in Romania have issued a number of alerts for Sunday, June 23, concerning extreme heat and significant heat stress in most of the country. A code red alert for extreme heat will be in place the south of Romania. The heat wave will be persistent and temperatures will be extremely high for the 5th consecutive day, reaching 38-39 degrees Celsius, with lows around 20 degrees.

     

    EMPLOYMENT The number of public sector employees in Romania in April 2024 was 1,292,549,up 3,009 since the previous month, according to data made public by the finance ministry. Of the over 826,000 employees in the central public administration, more than 600,000 were working in institutions fully funded from the state budget. The largest number of such positions was reported in the education ministry (302,230), followed by the interior ministry (123,859), defence ministry (73,818), finance ministry (24,762) and health ministry (18,156). Working in local public administration institutions this April were 466,308 people, of whom 286,443 in institutions fully funded from local budgets and 179,865 in institutions fully or partly financed from other revenues.

     

    DISINFORMATION The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed in Washington a Memorandum of Understanding on countering information manipulation. Among other things, the document provides for the coordinated development of relevant strategies, as well as for the involvement of independent media, civil society and the academia in fighting disinformation. According to a news release, the two officials have also reviewed the progress made by Romania towards inclusion in the Visa Waiver Programme, and have reconfirmed their commitment to close cooperation in view of reaching this goal as soon as possible. During her visit to the US, organised in the context of celebrating 20 years since Romania joined NATO, the Romanian diplomacy chief also had meetings with the National Security Council senior director for Europe Michael Carpenter, with whom she discussed items on the Romanian-US economic and security agenda, as well as regional developments and preparations for the forthcoming NATO Summit in Washington. Also, during a meeting with Samantha Power, USAID administrator, Luminiţa Odobescu highlighted the two countries’ shared interest in strengthening the resilience of partners in the Black Sea region, with a focus on the Republic of Moldova.

     

    ORGANISED CRIME The Romanian interior minister Cătălin Predoiu had a meeting with the British ambassador to Bucharest, Giles Matthew Portman. The talks focused on measures to be taken in order to curb transnational organised crime. According to the interior ministry, another topic approached by the 2 officials was improving the efficiency of police work, including institutional reforms, so as to handle current challenges. Predoiu highlighted the very good cooperation between the two countries, as well as the opportunities to further develop it under the Romanian-British Strategic Partnership. The Romanian official pointed out that border protection is a priority for Romania, whose goal is to strengthen and protect the Schengen area. Mr. Predoiu also mentioned that the implementation of the Pact on migration and asylum would be both a challenge for the Member States, and an opportunity to improve national migration and asylum management systems.

     

    FESTIVAL Sibiu, in central Romania, is hosting the 31st International Theatre Festival (FITS). For 10 days, the public can choose from as many as 830 events, including theatre performances, music, dance, circus, exhibitions and public reading sessions, which bring together over 5,000 artists from 82 countries. Internationally acclaimed actors, directors and writers such as John Malkovich, Tim Robbins, Pippo delBono and Neil LaBute are also expected to attend. Many of the international productions in FITS may be viewed online this year, on the online platform “Scena Digitală” of the Sibiu “Radu Stanca” National Theatre, the main organiser of FITS 2024. “In terms of the number of participants, the number of partners, the diversity of projects in the festival, I believe this is the most complex cultural event in Romania and a major one at international level,” said the culture minister Raluca Turcan, who attended several events in the Festival, including the opening of the Romania-Poland Cultural Season, the first in the history of the 2 countries’ bilateral relations.

     

    SWIMMING The Romanian swimmer David Popovici defended his gold at the 200m freestyle event in the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, after also winning the 100m freestyle race. The next challenge for the Romanian swimmer is the Olympic competition, in which Romania will be represented by 93 athletes. The latest one to qualify is the wrestler Răzvan Arnăuţ, in the 60kg Greco-Roman category, after the International Olympic Committee disqualified several Russian and Byelorussian athletes. (AMP)

  • June 22, 2024

    June 22, 2024

     

    WEATHER A code red alert for extreme heat is in place today in 5 counties in the south of Romania, with temperatures expected to reach 38-39 degrees Celsius. On Sunday the heat wave is predicted to stay in place and even extend to the capital city Bucharest as well. Later this afternoon, heavy rainfalls and storms are expected in the northern part of the country.

     

    DISINFORMATION The Romanian foreign minister Luminiţa Odobescu and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed in Washington a Memorandum of Understanding on countering information manipulation. Among other things, the document provides for the coordinated development of relevant strategies, as well as for the involvement of independent media, civil society and the academia in fighting disinformation. According to a news release, the two officials have also reviewed the progress made by Romania towards inclusion in the Visa Waiver Programme, and have reconfirmed their commitment to close cooperation in view of reaching this goal as soon as possible. During her visit to the US, organised in the context of celebrating 20 years since Romania joined NATO, the Romanian diplomacy chief also had meetings with the National Security Council senior director for Europe Michael Carpenter, with whom she discussed items on the Romanian-US economic and security agenda, as well as regional developments and preparations for the forthcoming NATO Summit in Washington. Also, during a meeting with Samantha Power, USAID administrator, Luminiţa Odobescu highlighted the two countries’ shared interest in strengthening the resilience of partners in the Black Sea region, with a focus on the Republic of Moldova.

     

    ORGANISED CRIME The Romanian interior minister Cătălin Predoiu had a meeting with the British ambassador to Bucharest, Giles Matthew Portman. The talks focused on measures to be taken in order to curb transnational organised crime. According to the interior ministry, another topic approached by the 2 officials was improving the efficiency of police work, including institutional reforms, so as to handle current challenges. Predoiu highlighted the very good cooperation between the two countries, as well as the opportunities to further develop it under the Romanian-British Strategic Partnership. The Romanian official pointed out that border protection is a priority for Romania, whose goal is to strengthen and protect the Schengen area. Mr. Predoiu also mentioned that the implementation of the Pact on migration and asylum would be both a challenge for the Member States, and an opportunity to improve national migration and asylum management systems.

     

    FESTIVAL Sibiu, in central Romania, is hosting the 31st International Theatre Festival (FITS). For 10 days, the public can choose from as many as 830 events, including theatre performances, music, dance, circus, exhibitions and public reading sessions, which bring together over 5,000 artists from 82 countries. Internationally acclaimed actors, directors and writers such as John Malkovich, Tim Robbins, Pippo delBono and Neil LaBute are also expected to attend. Many of the international productions in FITS may be viewed online this year, on the online platform “Scena Digitală” of the  Sibiu “Radu Stanca” National Theatre, the main organiser of FITS 2024.

     

    SWIMMING The Romanian swimmer David Popovici defended his gold at the 200m freestyle event in the European Aquatics Championships in Belgrade, after also winning the 100m freestyle race. The next challenge for the Romanian swimmer is the Olympic competition, in which Romania will be represented by 93 athletes. The latest one to qualify is the wrestler Răzvan Arnăuţ, in the 60kg Greco-Roman category, after the International Olympic Committee disqualified several Russian and Byelorussian athletes.

     

    FOOTBALL Romania’s national football team plays against Belgium tonight in Cologne, in Group E of the European Football Championship. A draw against Belgium would give Romania enough reasons to hope for a qualification in the eighth-finals. On Friday, Ukraine, which lost its first match in this tournament, 3-0 to Romania, defeated Slovakia 2-1. Romania, Ukraine and Slovakia have 3 points each in Group E, while Belgium has no points yet. More than 20,000 Romanian fans will support the team in Cologne tonight. This is Romania’s 6th participation in the Euro, after the ones in 1984, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016. A team of Romanian referees also takes part in this year’s continental competition. (AMP)

  • Takeaways of Russia’s war in Ukraine, two years on

    Takeaways of Russia’s war in Ukraine, two years on

    Two years since the launch of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, political theorist and university lecturer Marin Gherman analysed the current phase of the conflict, Ukraine’s chances of reisisting in 2024 in the context of a singificant drop in Western support for Kyiv, adn the top war propaganda and disinformation narratives as well as the overall imact of all these elements on the extended region, including Romania.

    Marin Gherman is a lecturer with the Ștefan cel Mare University of Suceava (Romania) and the director of the Institute of Political Studies and Social Capital in Chernivtsi (Ukraine).

  • The fake news threat

    The fake news threat

    In addition to turning the entire world upside down, the most recent coronavirus has become a test on society in terms of its vulnerability to fake news. Right from the beginning of the pandemic, official messages were put out that it would be closely followed by an avalanche of disinformation which changes outlooks. There are many reasons for which fake news is circulated. Sometimes it has to do with political interests, or those of anti-vaccine activists, other times it is about discrediting or building up an on-line profile. The phenomenon is not new, but it gained tremendous traction with the ascent of digital platforms. What we have to know is that fake news does not necessarily mean a false piece of news.

    Digital disinformation has nothing to do with journalism, according to Professor Alina Bârgăoanu, an expert with a group for combating fake news and disinformation with the European Commission. The information ecosystem has fundamentally changed over the last few years, the digital space has mostly dislocated this system, and mainstream news is a collateral victim of this unprecedented rise of digital platforms, according to Professor Bârgăoanu:


    “The use of the term fake news is deceptive, because if we use the term fake news, that leads us to the idea of a distinction between truth and falsehood, when in fact the mega-phenomenon of digital disinformation does not necessarily have to do with a fraud perpetrated on truth, but a fraud having to do with the use of our profiles, of personal data, it has to do with the targeting people as users of digital platforms.


    The danger lies in manipulation driven by algorithms, which means that fake news are built depending on our interests, and are targeted based on our social media behavior. When seen like this, things become relatively simple, it is easy to influence a person whose profile you know in detail, and to make them spread further information that confirms their fears and prejudices. A major role in this is played by Facebook and Google, which gather data and quickly and easily spread information to a massive amount of users, targeted simply because they are easily profiled. As an example used by Professor Bârgăoanu, there are articles allegedly published by Israeli intelligence agencies saying that they are able to estimate people’s inclination to be suicide bombers based on the amount of chocolate they eat:


    “Fake news is neither news, nor is they false. Of course we can talk about this species of journalism, meaning errors in information, about disinformation intentionally thrown out there, but the bad news is that we are not talking about news, but about emotions, memes, videos, cartoons, hashtags, and we are not talking about something fake. A piece of information may be accurate, but if it is amplified by algorithms and search engines, it becomes fake because it comes into an uneven competition with an equally true piece of information that doesn’t get promoted. We are dealing with something I called disinformation 2.0, in order to point out the fact that we are dealing with totally new phenomenon, the explosion of digital platforms, and it has nothing to do with journalism.


    In Romania we have fallen in the trap of debating fake news in terms of true or false, which is something that Professor Bârgăoanu warns us about:


    “I believe that the fundamental distinction between viral and not viral lies in what can get on search engines and what does not, what is promoted by Facebook and what is taken off of Facebook. There are mechanisms of taking things off of platforms, there are ways in which Google can be made to place your name in first place or in last place. That doesn’t mean you don’t exist, but by using some mechanisms you can either be a star or you can be non-existent. I believe we should not be talking about the widespread phenomenon of digital disinformation in terms of true or false, but that we should discuss the fundamental changes that digital platforms have brought to the information ecosystem.


    Most of the time, fake news tries to spread panic by being alarmist, using information that stirs up angry feelings. They can generate tensions, they can render people vulnerable and endanger institutions or social cohesion. Also worrying is the fact that they can continue to play on the interests of the people who created them, even after being debunked. Fake news affects judgment, which makes people more prone to manipulation. This is a major link in hybrid warfare, if it turns out that behind it are state actors. The purpose is to modify the collective mentality of people, exploiting disenchantment, frustration, or hatred for a political purpose, for instance in order to encourage political parties that are against the European Union, against Western society, which is supposed to cause a dramatic change in the geopolitical and security paradigm.


    CC

  • The EU and cyber-security

    The EU and cyber-security

    The minister delegate for European Affairs, George Ciamba, on Tuesday chaired the General Affairs Council meeting held in Brussels under the auspices of the Romanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.



    According to the Romanian Foreign Ministry, a focal point on the agenda of talks was the post-2020 Multi-annual Financial Framework. The Romanian official gave details on the stage of talks on this file as well as on the process and the provisional work programme until April 2019. George Ciamba recalled that the main objective of the Romanian presidency is to continue talks at a fast pace, in order to make available a streamlined and balanced document for negotiations in the European Councils June meeting.



    Also, cracking down on misinformation is a very important topic for the Romanian presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the conclusions adopted in Brussels on Tuesday do not come too late for the EP elections due in May.



    The ministers for European affairs who attended Tuesdays meeting in Brussels also discussed the agenda of the Spring Council and underlined the importance of talks on the internal market, the Digital Single Market, the EU industrial policy, laying emphasis on the role of these talks in preparing the future Strategic Agenda. At the summit held on March 21 and 22, the European leaders will focus mainly on issues related to employment, growth and competitiveness, climate change, preparations for the EU-China Summit due on April 9, cracking down on misinformation, protecting the integrity of European and national elections.



    During Tuesdays meeting, the European officials also talked about the progress of procedures started under Article 7 of the EU Treaty, triggered by the EC against Poland for having failed to observe the rule of law and against Hungary for failure to observe community values. The conclusions of the EU Council on free and correct elections were also formally adopted, thus sending a political signal of special relevance at European level, ahead of the election campaign for the European Parliament, which will be held in the EU Member States between May 23 and 26. The Council has also adopted conclusions on the relations between the EU and Switzerland. They are adopted by the Council every two years and are meant to assess the stage of relations between the two partners and represent a political declaration on boosting cooperation in the future.



    (translated by: Diana Vijeu)