Opinion: “Moldova on the Brink of Total State Censorship”

Having put traditional media in check, the authorities have increasingly turned their attention to censorship in the online space

Semyon ALBU, RTA: The closer the elections approach, the more the current political regime puts efforts in entrenching its power structure and manipulating public opinion. The ruling party has virtually fused itself with the state and operates with complete impunity, launching its electoral campaign ahead of schedule and staging a taxpayer-funded PR marathon of its supposed successes under the guise of a “government information campaign”. In the absence of real accomplishments, amid a deepening economic crisis, catastrophic demographic trends, and entrenched poverty, it has become more crucial than ever to make people believe in progress where none exists. It resembles Eurointegration Witnesses cult – one that spans the entire country. Naturally, the cornerstone of such a strategy can only be the creation of a fully sterilized and subordinated media landscape, designed to produce only narratives and meanings favorable to those in power. It must be acknowledged that, in this arena, the ruling PAS party has demonstrated an uncharacteristic degree of foresight and consistency. Since the early days of their rule, they have waged a crusade against any alternative perspectives on Moldova’s past, present, or future. And they continue this campaign with a vigor that might have been better applied elsewhere. As is well known, since 2021, the mass media, which perhaps no longer deserves the title of the “fourth estate”, has found itself at the center of a coordinated assault. Some outlets were forced to play by new rules, others were integrated into a loyalist pool, switching to round-the-clock service of the new masters of the country, while the rest were subjected to various forms of repression. Almost immediately, PAS took control of the Audiovisual Council, transforming it into a punitive body that began imposing sanctions on dissenting voices one after another. I once cited an interesting statistic: whereas previously the Council “would fine” media outlets less than a million lei per year, under the “yellow” administration that figure exceeded three million. And judging by this year’s trajectory, they appear to be heading for a record. The war in Ukraine flung open a massive window of opportunity to accelerate the takeover of the information space. Taking advantage of the prolonged state of emergency, the authorities began, as the saying goes, to block undesirable media outlets en masse off the record. More than a dozen TV channels and nearly a hundred various portals, news agencies, and the like were targeted. The “purge” affected both Moldovan, primarily opposition, platforms and foreign ones, mainly Russian. After the state of emergency was lifted, the authorities came up with a way to transfer the function of extrajudicial media restrictions to the Invest Moldova Agency, which has carried this shameful banner forward with enthusiasm. As a result, even Western organizations that are typically highly sympathetic to our government have begun to lower Moldova in press freedom rankings. For example, Reporters Without Borders ranked us four positions lower this year compared to 2024, although overall we still undeservedly hold a rather high 35th place. To justify the downgrade, the authors of the index specifically pointed to the practice of suspending television licenses without sufficient transparency, as well as insults and intimidation of journalists by politicians. However, such trifles in no way affect the political course of PAS, which enjoys the full support of senior partners in Brussels, who also firmly endorse its so-called “fight against disinformation.” Having largely subdued the traditional media, the authorities have now turned their attention more actively to the previously more or less independent online space. The warning that state censorship would soon extend into the digital sphere was issued several years ago. Now, it is no longer a theory, but a fact. Firstly, the so-called “Ministry of Truth”, the Patriot Center, is operating at full throttle. What exactly it does remains unclear, since, in a bitter twist of irony, it is one of the most opaque and secretive state institutions, spending considerable sums of both public and grant money on purposes that remain undisclosed. Nevertheless, according to its former head Ana Revenco, the agency was engaged in continuous monitoring of online content and social media in search of “fakes” and “disinformation.” The Patriot Center is also believed to be behind the controversial Moldovan copy of Ukraine’s Myrotvorets website – a “blacklist” of so-called “enemies of the people.” Recently, Speaker of Parliament Igor Grosu claimed that the center regularly provides certain reports and analyses to state institutions. Perhaps these reports advise on how to tighten the “information screws” even further? Despite the clearly controversial aura surrounding it, the Patriot Center received high praise and virtually a promise of future support from the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas. Overall, this highly contentious institution appears to have a bright future: it is currently undergoing a process of being placed directly under the authority of Maia Sandu – the very person who originally initiated its creation. Furthermore, it is set to be exempted from parliamentary oversight. To assist the “patriots”, the Audiovisual Council is also being mobilized. According to Grosu, amendments are being prepared to the Audiovisual Code that would expand the Council’s oversight from traditional media to the online space. Just a few days ago, the government approved a legal mechanism allowing state authorities to urgently restrict access to internet resources that “threaten public safety and national interests”. More specifically, the targets will include websites and pages spreading “false information”; accounts that “encourage participation in unauthorized protests”; platforms publishing “calls for violence or the overthrow of the government”; and any resource linked to individuals suspected of “undermining state foundations”. I think the situation is more than clear. Fortunately for the authorities, loyal media outlets are already crafting the desired narrative that Moldova is facing a full-scale information war ahead of the parliamentary elections. Allegedly, fictitious companies are conducting public opinion polls on social media, manipulating voters’ preferences. Then there’s the supposed large-scale Russian disinformation campaign aimed at fostering anti-government sentiment, involving thousands of fake accounts. Naturally, against such a backdrop, it won’t be difficult to promote the new repressive measures both to supporters within the country and to Western partners, who, by the way, are also currently making sure that freedom of speech doesn’t become too free in their own territories. A couple of months ago, PAS made a move toward even more radical censorship by proposing fines for so-called “disinformation”. Fortunately, the public outcry was strong enough that, under pressure, this amendment was shelved, at least until the elections. Still, the train of thought among the masterminds of the ruling regime is crystal clear: both the public and the media can now only dream of the informational freedoms that once existed.