Summary
The data analyzed below in this report are relevant for July 1 – September 30, 2023.
In this analysis, we were interested in discovering the most viral Romanian Facebook content related to a number of state actors and international organizations relevant to Romania: the EU, NATO, the US, Germany, France, the UK, Israel, Russia, China, Ukraine.
CPD extracted data using CrowdTangle, a public insights tool owned and operated by Facebook.
Here are some of the findings:
- A Facebook video emerged as a top performer in engagement rankings related to the EU, the US, Russia, and China. Disguised as an appeal to neutrality and national interest, the video subtly conveys an anti-American, pro-Russian sentiment, positing that Ukraine is fighting an unjust war and proposing the concession of Ukrainian territories to both Russia and Romania as a resolution to the conflict.
- Ukraine faced a significant downturn in both mentions and engagement, pointing to a transient focus or evolving priorities within online discussions. Two notable high-engagement mentions (22k and 12k shares, respectively) feature a 1997 message of former populist leader Corneliu Vadim Tudor, describing the “artificially-fed Ukraine strengthening at the expense of Romania”, which was allegedly caught between conflicting pressures from Russia and the West.