TikTok tactics shake up politics in Romania [Video]

Barely known a year ago, far-right candidate Calin Georgescu successfully dominated social network TikTok to emerge the shock winner of Romania’s first-round presidential election — an online campaign that has raised suspicions.

Georgescu, an admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has surged to more than 450,000 followers on TikTok, racking up millions of views and five million likes in the country of 19 million people.

Romanian news site G4 Media, which conducted an analysis of Georgescu’s social media use, found the far-right politician mounted a “propaganda machine” using thousands of supposed “volunteers” to spread his anti-EU, anti-NATO messages.

It found his online allies received pre-made materials on messaging app Telegram, ready for posting as comments on TikTok and other platforms, where Georgescu produced a wave of viral content around issues such as his call for an end to aid for neighbouring Ukraine.

Georgescu, 62, finished as the surprise winner of …