MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. The Romanian media continues to spread fake stories about an alleged Russian threat to scare citizens and divert their attention from the country’s economic problems, Ioana Baragan, expert at the Global Fact-Checking Network in Romania, said in an overview analysis of fake news reports about Russia, made available to TASS.
"Since the beginning of February 2022, the Romanian mass media have spread a lot of fake news, but denied most of it within a few weeks or months. The stories were mostly copied from Western media agencies in order to make the population believe whatever was convenient at a certain time," the expert points out.
According to her, Romanian media outlets sought to promote the idea of the alleged Russian threat, while anyone who had the courage to oppose the government’s position about the need to support Ukraine was "immediately accused of being pro-Russian."
Baragan also notes that at some point, people were indoctrinated with the idea that Russia is weak and does not have enough equipment. However, the media’s rhetoric gradually changed and reports surfaced claiming that the people of Romania "should give up prosperity for defense" due to the Russia threat.
"News channels started promoting the idea that Russia will attack NATO in the next four years and that Russia is about to produce three times more ammunition than the US and Europe," the expert observed, adding that political and military analysts were "developing exaggerated ideas" in order to keep the public in a state of panic.
Given these alarming publications, "the Romanian people were already psychologically prepared to learn that in 2025, their army would begin modernization programs, even if the standard of living of the population declined," Baragan remarked.
In this regard, the analyst also highlighted the people’s preparedness to accept data from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical office, which said that in May 2025, Romania’s inflation rate was the highest in the EU as it reached 5.4%, up from 4.9% in April. In addition, the value added tax was increased by two percentage points, and electricity prices rose on July 1.