PRAGUE — Chinese-owned video sharing platform TikTok removed scores of accounts reported for attempting to interfere with Czech parliamentary elections taking place Friday and Saturday. Researchers flagged hundreds of accounts on TikTok as displaying inauthentic behavior and the platform removed dozens, the Czech Telecommunication Office told POLITICO. The Czech election campaign has been plagued by fake news and propaganda, with tactics ranging from disinformation websites that translate content directly from sanctioned Russian sources to bots impersonating candidates on social media. Local research network Online Risk Labs said it has found 286 accounts on TikTok with “a cumulative reach of 5 to 9 million views per week,” exceeding that of many political party leaders, which look to boost extremist parties like the far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) or far-left Enough! (Stačilo!). Both of these parties could, for the first time since the fall of communism in 1989, end up directly in government — or providing support to Andrej Babiš’s right-wing populist ANO party, which is leading in the polls. “The content includes, for example, glorification of Vladimir Putin, disinformation and narratives legitimizing Russian aggression in Ukraine, as well as demonstrations of the Russian army’s strength,” Online Risk Labs said. As of Aug. 1, TikTok has proactively removed 98.5 percent of content breaking its rules on election integrity, misinformation and AI-generated content, as well as 46 accounts impersonating officials, the platform told POLITICO about the Czech elections. “We have proactively implemented additional safety and security measures ahead of the elections in Czechia, including an in-app Election Center to provide access to authoritative information about the vote,” TikTok said. Around 2.5 million people use TikTok in Czechia, a far smaller proportion than in Romania, where last year’s presidential elections were annulled after ultranationalist, NATO-skeptical candidate Călin Georgescu came out of nowhere to win the vote boosted by content on TikTok. The European Commission participated in a roundtable with tech giants Google, Meta, Microsoft, TikTok and X, organized by the Czech telecoms office on Aug. 29, spokesperson Thomas Regnier said. The platforms “declared their readiness to respond to potential incidents,” the Czech telcomms office said, but pointed to the Commission’s responsibility over systemic risks.

European leaders breathed a collective sigh of relief Monday as Moldova remained on its pro-EU path in a high-stakes parliamenatry election marred by Russian influence operations. With more than 99.9 percent of the ballots counted, the pro-EU Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) secured victory with 50.2 percent, well ahead of the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP), which collected 24.2 percent of the vote. “Moldova, you’ve done it again. No attempt to sow fear or division could break your resolve,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a post on X. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas echoed her boss, saying that Moldova’s vote is a “clear yes to a European future.” “Despite Russia’s massive efforts to spread disinformation and buy votes, no force can stop a people committed to freedom,” Kallas said. Sunday’s parliamentary election was heavily targeted by the Kremlin, seeking — but ultimately failing — to nudge the post-Soviet country back into its sphere of influence, according to analysts and Moldovan President Maia Sandu. Further congratulations for the pro-EU movement poured in from Kyiv, Warsaw and Prague. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he called Sandu to congratulated her on her party’s victory. “These elections showed that Russia’s destabilizing activity loses, while Moldova in Europe wins. Russian subversion, constant disinformation — none of this worked. It is important that Moldova was effective in defending itself against threats together with all who helped,” he said. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk added that the election was “a good lesson for us all.” “It took real courage of the Moldovan nation and Maia Sandu personally to win this election. Not only did you save democracy and kept the European course, but you have also stopped Russia in its attempts to take control over the whole region. A good lesson for us all,” he said. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, who faces being ousted from office by populist right-winger Andrej Babiš in an election this weekend, expressed hope for his own country. “Great news from Moldova! … Voters in Moldova gave a clear stop to the pro-Russian parties. This is hope also for Czechia; please come to the polls and don’t let the country fall to Russian collaborators,” Fiala wrote. The reaction from Moscow, however, was rather more sour. Russia wasted little time in denouncing Moldova’s election outcome, casting the victory for Sandu’s party as being illegitimate and orchestrated. Alexander Gusev, a Kremlin-aligned political scientist and professor at the Russian Academy of Sciences, accused Sandu of manipulating the process to cement her pro-European course. “The Moldovan authorities, and Sandu personally, are doing everything to ensure that these elections effectively confirm her legitimacy and the course toward European integration,” he told the state-owned news agency RIA Novosti. “For them there is no such thing as justice, they have a simple task and they carry it out like puppets of Europe.” Leonid Slutsky, chair of the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s lower house of parliament, dismissed Sandu’s victory as a “Pyrrhic” one. “As a result of these elections, Moldova will become even more divided,” he warned, adding that “Sandu’s regime is leading Moldova down the path of Ukraine.” Eva Hartog contributed to this report.

CHIȘINĂU, Moldova — Moldovans voted on Sunday in a landmark parliamentary election that could determine whether the country stays on course to join the European Union, amid widespread warnings of interference by Russia. The Central Election Commission is tallying results, with provisional counts set to come in through the night — although the outcome will only be fully verified after the watchdog and external observers present their findings later on Monday morning. The pro-European Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS) is hoping to secure a renewed majority, having held 61 seats out of 101 in the national parliament since 2021 and vowing to take the country into the EU within the next five years. However, officials say the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc (BEP) and the more opaque Alternativa opposition bloc stand to gain from a campaign of disinformation and bribery orchestrated from Moscow. “Russia is pulling out all the stops to tip this election,” Moldovan National Security Adviser Stanislav Secrieru told POLITICO ahead of the vote. “We’re seeing unprecedented efforts: more money to buy votes, more AI-driven disinformation amplified by troll networks, and more resources dedicated to orchestrating street violence.” The first results are primarily from small towns and villages, with ballots from bigger cities and overseas polling stations counted later. At 9.30 p.m. local time (8.30 p.m. Brussels) the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) will present preliminary results. From then on, results will be updated through the night, with results from larger cities and diaspora votes coming in around 11 p.m. local time. Throughout Sunday, bomb threats were reported at polling stations abroad — including one that forced the evacuation of Moldova’s embassy in Brussels. “Police report intel on groups planning unrest in Chișinău starting tonight and during tomorrow’s protest called by the pro-Russian Patriotic bloc,” Secreriu later wrote online. Last year, a referendum on EU membership narrowly passed and liberal President Maia Sandu secured a second term in office despite votes marred by allegations of Kremlin election meddling. In both cases, ballots from the hundreds of thousands of Moldovans living abroad — many in EU countries — were critical in swinging the result. Dorina Baltag, a researcher at the Institute for Diplomacy and International Affairs and co-founder of diaspora group Noroc Olanda, said their votes would again be “of critical importance, both numerically and symbolically.” “Over the past decade, the diaspora has consolidated itself as one of the most consistent pro-European constituencies, with electoral mobilization that often tips the balance in closely contested races,” she said. However, the diaspora has also faced a wave of hybrid efforts to sway their votes or encourage them to stay home. More than 900 accounts have been identified working as part of a coordinated effort, spreading AI-generated disinformation linked to Russia. The first results are primarily from small towns and villages, with ballots from bigger cities and overseas polling stations counted later. | Herrera Carcedo//Getty Images According to Siegfried Mureșan, the Romanian MEP who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation to Moldova, “this is the last chance for Russia to affect Moldova’s EU integration path. Russia knows it. This is one of the reasons why they are so heavily invested there.” This article is being updated.