In the latter half of 2024, online discussions in Romania mirrored shifting global trends, with the US, Ukraine, and Russia dominating digital narratives. The US presidential election alone spurred over 104,000 mentions about the country, while allegations of Russian interference in Romania’s presidential race and the ongoing war in Ukraine ensured both countries remained central in public discourse, generating billions of views. Experts from academic think-tank CPD analyzed the evolutions of mentions related to 10 geopolitical actors in Romanian online sources to uncover trends in discourse, sentiment, and narrative shifts over time, highlighting key patterns in media coverage and public perception.
The EU maintained steady but lower visibility, with peaks around Romania’s Schengen accession and Moldova’s EU referendum. Germany, France, and the UK experienced spikes in attention tied to elections, security concerns, and major sporting events like Euro 2024 and the Paris Olympics.
China, Israel, and NATO also shaped discussions, with TikTok’s alleged role in Romania’s elections, Israel’s security situation, and NATO’s regional influence standing out. Notably, NATO and the EU were discussed less than individual countries.
Disclaimer: The insights and graphs quoted above were extracted from a report written by the CPD team using NewsVibe data. The report can be accessed at civicparticipation.ro.
