A recent online disinformation campaign has been launched, alleging that pro-Western President Maia Sandu purchased sperm from American celebrities to conceive a child. Representatives of Romania’s right-wing Alliance for the Unity of Romanians party, and so-called “sovereignist” politicians from across Europe, met for the fourth edition of a MEGA conference. Three parties from Moldova’s „Victory” Bloc, affiliated with fugitive oligarch Sor, have been excluded from the upcoming parliamentary elections, and images have emerged in the press showing the luxury villa where Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc was living in Greece, the country in which he was recently detained.
Sophisticated disinfo campaign targets Moldova and its pro-Western president
The Moldovan think-tank WatchDog has uncovered a sprawling, sophisticated large-scale disinformation campaign alleging that President Maia Sandu purchased sperm from homosexual US celebrities, from Elton John to Ricky Martin.
The bizarre campaign, which began on July 30, was launched on a clone website resembling the US celebrity website OK! magazine and aims to publicly discredit Sandu and sow discord throughout the former Soviet republic in the run-up to the critical election, according to experts.
sursa foto: Colaj ZdG/ Foto: Ghia Abashidze
The tactic, however, is not new: the same formula was applied in the case of Zelensky and in previous campaigns in Moldova starting in 2016, when the country’s geopolitical direction shifted westward.
The fake news story was fabricated to stoke national prejudices by touching on topics such as sexuality, gender, and social status. The bizarre story was distributed by dozens of websites in Russia, including large sites such as Regnum and Dzen, Watchdog reported.
See the full analysis here.
Europe’s “sovereigntists” cash in on foreign political capital in Chisinau
The so-called “sovereigntists” of Europe are cashing in again on the political capital of foreign nations with a fourth edition of their „Make Europe Great Again” movement, which was held in Moldova’s capital, Chisinau, in late July.
The conference was attended by several representatives of Romania’s AUR party, and a roster of local politicians, some of whom profess to be either unionists, statists, pro-Europeans, or even revisionists with affiliations to the pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Sor, reports Ziarul de Garda.
Valeriu Munteanu, an AUR deputy in Romania’s Parliament and a former deputy in Moldova, told ZdG that the conference aimed to discuss what he called „Trump’s World versus Soros’ World.”
Asked who financed and organized the MEGA conference in Chisinau, AUR parliamentarian Adrian George Axinia stated that it is financed by his own party and said that expenses for it would appear in the party’s financial reports.
Sursa foto: partidulaur.ro
Context.ro previously found that the website domain for the Make Europe Great Again 2025 conference was purchased at the request of a client linked to AUR, according to the Romanian company that registered it. Officially, the conference in Chisinau is organized by the National Foundation for Romanians Everywhere, founded by the current AUR group adviser in the Romanian Senate, Eugen Popescu, as reported by www.deschide.md. The foundation through which George Simion collected his wedding gift is financed by retired foreign intelligence generals, the investigative portal Captura.ro has revealed.
See the full news here.
Parties from Moldova’s „Victorie” Bloc excluded from electoral race
Three parties from Moldova’s “Victorie” bloc, the Alternative and Salvation Force of Moldova, Chance party, Victory, and the “Partidul Agrar din Moldova” have been excluded from the list of parties eligible to participate in the upcoming parliamentary election.
The decision was made on 3 august at the meeting of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC), reports TV8.
The decision comes one day after the parties of the „Victorie” Bloc declared that they would submit separate applications for the parliamentary elections. On July 19, the „Victorie-Pobeda” electoral bloc was not registered for the upcoming vote. The CEC suggested in its decision that it is a continuation of the Sor Party, which was outlawed in 2023.
Read the full news here.
The fugitive oligarch’s bolthole in Greece
The investigative news platform RISE Moldova revealed in a recent report the exact location of the luxury villa where the fugitive oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc and former deputy Constantin Țuțu took refuge before they were detained in the Greek capital, Athens.
sursa foto: RISE MD/ propertylistings.ft.com
The ultramodern villa equipped with a swimming pool in the exclusive Saronida area on Ifaistou Street near the Aegean Sea, became the center of an international search operation
The property has eight luxurious en-suite bedrooms, some of which boast jacuzzis and separate dressing rooms. The property is also equipped with a state-of-the-art wine cellar, a gym with a hammam, an independent guest house, an infinity pool with sea views, an outdoor lounge area, and an underground garage.
Read the full investigation here.
Despre autor: Marionela Toma
