About the Event

Aspen Institute Romania – Chisinau Office, together with the Association for Foreign Policy from Moldova (APE) and Watchdog Moldova, organized the second roundtable of the project “Defining and Countering Anti-Western Narratives in the Republic of Moldova”, on April 3, 2025, co-funded by the European Commission and the German Marshall Fund of the United States. This initiative remains crucial in the current regional context, especially considering the parliamentary elections in the fall of 2025. At the same time, the increasingly complex challenges related to social media algorithms are becoming a major obstacle for the general public, which struggles to keep up with the dynamic flow of information, making them more vulnerable to disinformation. In this context, Moldova’s resilience against disinformation has evolved slightly over the past three years, but the challenges have increased significantly, particularly after Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine and during the pre-electoral period in the fall of 2024.

The event analyzed in detail the results of the survey conducted in March 2025, continuing the discussions from the previous roundtable and deepening the conclusions of the 2024 fall survey. It provided a platform for debating the sources and effects of anti-Western disinformation in the Republic of Moldova and the region. The roundtable brought together experts, opinion leaders, civil society representatives, and officials, who will discuss both the data collected at the national level and its implications for social cohesion and Moldova’s democratic stability. During the event, strategies through which social media algorithms influence information consumption were explored, as well as how these mechanisms can be exploited to spread false narratives, and solutions for better informing and protecting the public. Additionally, it fostered a discussion on the need to strengthen the informational resilience of the population, especially among vulnerable groups (Russian speakers, the elderly, and rural inhabitants).

In a context marked by the intensification of disinformation campaigns and heightened social polarization, analyzing and understanding how fake news is created and amplified becomes essential for protecting the integrity of the informational space. The event represented a valuable opportunity to assess the impact of disinformation on perceptions of the European Union and contribute to the development of effective solutions to enhance society’s resilience. Through this initiative, we aimed not only to provide an in-depth analysis based on data but also to promote proactive measures for educating citizens and strengthening a fact-based dialogue in the lead-up to future elections.

Event Format

Roundtable with participation by invitation only, in Chatham House format, facilitated by Stella Jemna, Manager of the Aspen Institute Romania Chisinau Office, and Valeriu Pașa, Executive Director of Watchdog Moldova. The discussion was conducted in Romanian, with simultaneous translation into English.