Influencers Fight Fake News
In this week’s update, read about the influencers taking on Kremlin-sponsored malign information campaigns.
Also see
Voices for Moldova
Six-month project empowers trusted journalists, bloggers and influencers to shape a more resilient information environment.
Moldova: Civil Society and Media Synergies
IWPR event brings together regional stakeholders to share best practices in combating malign influence.
Influencers Fight Fake News
In this week’s update, read about the influencers taking on Kremlin-sponsored malign information campaigns.
Welcome to IWPR’s Frontline Update, your go-to source to hear from journalists and local voices at the front lines of conflict.
THE BIG PICTURE
Disinformation spreads like wildfire on social media, amplified by algorithms and trusted by unsuspecting users.
In Moldova, a new campaign is bringing together independent content creators to actively counter foreign malign influence operations and promote unity.
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE
“Disinformation is a weapon that can easily be used against a divided and frightened society - and that is exactly what we are experiencing: fear and division when we argue with one another,” said project participant Tatiana Insuratelu, the creator and host of the popular Titania Podcast.
IWPR’s project will support journalists, bloggers, and digital creators from across the country - including the autonomous republic of Gagauzia and the Transnistrian region – to produce original content across multiple platforms that both debunks falsehoods and champions unity.
“Disinformation is not just a communication issue - it is a human rights issue,” said another participant, a content creator from the LGBT community. “When information is intentionally distorted to manipulate people, it infringes upon the right to receive accurate and truthful information.”
WHY IT MATTERS
“Moldova has become a frontline in Russia's war against European values and democracy,” IWPR Managing Editor Daniella Peled told a panel at the Perugia International Journalism Festival last week, recalling the September 2025 elections seen as a pivotal for the country’s democratic future.
Russia unleashed a torrent of disruptive funding and digital attacks, flooding social media and messaging apps with malign information.
“But against this hybrid war came a hybrid fightback,” she continued. “A coalition of Moldovan independent journalists and civil society countered this onslaught with their own tactics.”
Against all odds, the pro-European candidates won.
Moldova will face fresh challenges ahead of the 2027 local elections, and IWPR’s influencers initiative is the latest in work that continues to build the country’s resilience in the face of Russian-sponsored campaigns.
THE BOTTOM LINE
As elections globally face foreign interference, Moldova’s experience provides a practical playbook for media operating under pressure.
IWPR continues to work with civil society and media around the world to build resilience against such malign operations.
“It's really important to acknowledge that this is actually a good news story, a rare example of a small country that stands up to confront and actually defeat a large and enormously powerful state,” Peled told the Perugia panel. “So we should celebrate it - and we should learn from it.”
