Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Facebook used in operation to 'destabilise' Moldova government

Facebook used in operation to 'destabilise' Moldova government

Facebook has since removed the ads paid by the exiled oligarch Ilan Shor but experts believe they've managed to have an impact on Moldovan society

Facebook is again under fire for allowing a pro-Russian oligarch to run paid ads on their platform -- even after he had been sanctioned -- with the aim of destabilising the government of Moldova.

Ilan Shor, an opposition politician has been put on the US government’s sanctions list for trying to undermine Moldova on behalf of Russia back in October 2022.

Currently living in exile in Israel, he is implicated in a $1 billion theft from Moldovan banks in 2014.

In his paid ads on Facebook, Ilan Shor is frequently attempting to round up support for anti-government protests and accusing Maia Sandu, the pro-Western President of Moldova of corruption.

"This campaign goal's includes denigrating the European Union, the European integration plans of Moldova, and diminishing the role of this war started by Putin in the economic and social crisis in Moldova," explained Valeriu Pașa, the president of Watchdog Moldova.

But in 2021, Moldovans elected a pro-European government after years of Russia-friendly ruling politicians. In June 2022, Moldova was granted EU candidate status, the same day as Ukraine.

As a person under sanctions, Shor is not allowed to engage in any financial transactions with Facebook or any other US company.

But his team have found a loophole by buying Facebook pages from other countries such as Vietnam and then running ads through them for example.


An effective influence campaign


Last autumn, Moldova was rocked by a series of anti-government protests initiated by the Shor Party. Thousands took to the streets of the capital to protest against rising energy prices.

Most of the ads were ultimately removed by Facebook but not before they were watched millions of times in a small country with a population of about 2.6 million people.

According to Valeriu Pașa, Meta's (Facebook's parent company) slow response has had a detrimental impact on public opinion.

"We see some actions from Meta but the reactions are very slow and absolutely inefficient because the impact is done and all of these pages and people behind them, are still violating Facebook's own rules," he told Euronews.

"Meta is not doing enough to fight all this disinformation, which is very impactful in Moldova," he explained.

Meta promised to crack down on these influence campaigns in response to the war in Ukraine.

"We’ve established a special operations center staffed by experts from across the company, including native Russian and Ukrainian speakers, who are monitoring the platform around the clock, allowing us to respond to issues in real time," wrote the company in a statement.

But nothing in their policy update mentions Moldova. The Cube has reached out to Meta, a spokesperson emailed us back with a comment.

"We took away this sanctioned individual’s ability to advertise on our apps when he was added to the US sanctions list," said a Meta spokesperson via email.

"In response, we detected efforts to use other Pages and accounts in an attempt to amplify his content. We took them down as a result of our own internal detection and also tip-offs by civil society in Moldova. We know that malicious actors like this are persistent and we’re continuing to monitor and take action."

Meanwhile, Moldovan NGOs like Watchdog.Md are pleading with Meta for more resources and staff to better monitor the situation.

Like many big tech firms based in the US, Meta has sometimes struggled to moderate content in languages other than English.

"What we are really asking for is at least one person to be in contact with independent NGOs in Moldova speaks Romanian and Russian, and who preferably knows a little bit about the regional context to help us improve the informational environment on Facebook," said Pașa.

"Meta is not the poorest company in the world, so I don't see why they can't hire one person to monitor content in Moldova."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×