A Romanian NGO has accused US tech billionaire Elon Musk of trying to sabotage the country’s democracy, claiming he was part of a “disinformation and intimidation” campaign ahead of the country’s upcoming presidential election re-run in May.
In a statement published on March 4, Expert Forum (EFOR) alleged that Musk was deliberately targeting it and other civil society groups in what it called an “unprecedented attack” on democracy.
“Expert Forum and our fellow civil society organisations are facing an unprecedented attack from powerful figures like Elon Musk. We believe this is an increasingly dangerous attempt at intimidation, deliberately singling out Expert Forum and other Romanian NGOs,” EFOR said.
“Such actions aim to discredit and weaken civil society’s role in defending democracy and holding powerful entities accountable,” it added.
The outrage followed a public remark by Musk on X regarding a European Union Digital Services Act (DSA) roundtable held in Romania on March 3.
Reacting to criticism of the meeting, framed by some as an attempt to ramp up online censorship before the election, Musk stated on his social media platform X: “The NGOs are trying to destroy democracy!”
The NGOs are trying to destroy democracy! https://t.co/Kla23rPXHS
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 3, 2025
EFOR insisted his comment was misleading and amplified the voice of a “pro-Georgescu influencer Mario Nawfal”.
Călin Georgescu is a Romanian right-wing politician who won the first round of the annulled Romanian elections in November and who was arrested by police on February 26.
According to the NGO, Musk was engaged in a deliberate effort to “manipulate public opinion and undermine efforts to protect democracy in Romania”.
“This disinformation campaign is based on an intentional distortion of an official meeting which took place on March 3, 2025, in Bucharest,” it added.
The meeting in question brought together Romania’s DSA co-ordinator (ANCOM), European Commission representatives, Big Tech platforms and NGOs to discuss the enforcement of the DSA in the context of the country’s presidential election.
On its website, ANCOM described itself as the institution responsible for all aspects related to the supervision and observance of the DSA by the providers of intermediary services.
Romanian authorities indicated they planned to conduct an “election security exercise” on March 27 to test online platforms’ ability to counter potential manipulation tactics, including so-called “deepfakes”.
A similar drill had previously been run before Germany’s elections on February 23.
The latest Romanian developments occurred following the country’s December 6 presidential election annulment, due to alleged foreign interference on social media, which was said to have favoured Georgescu.
Georgescu’s police detainment triggered mass protests in Romania.
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has criticised the European Union, arguing that democracy in the bloc is no longer functioning properly. https://t.co/hLhKTJ5hDE
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 28, 2025
