Russian Disinformation Campaign Targets Moldova’s Pro-EU President Ahead of Parliamentary Elections
By Eva Maitland
What happened: A Russian disinformation operation is targeting Moldova’s pro-Europe President Maia Sandu with claims of corruption ahead of the country’s September 2025 parliamentary elections.
Context: Moldova, which borders Ukraine, is highly polarized, with the electorate split between pro-Europe and pro-Russian factions.
Sandu, a vocal critic of Russia, was reelected to the presidency in 2024, narrowly defeating a pro-Kremlin candidate in an election that Moldovan authorities said was subjected to “massive” Russian interference.
A closer look: Since the September 2025 election was announced in the former Soviet republic, Matryohska, a Russian influence campaign known for creating fake videos and articles emulating credible news outlets, has been spreading false narratives about Sandu — ranging from her supposedly outrageously expensive wardrobe to tales of embezzling government funds to help an alleged mistress.
One image shared widely on social media showed a purported report by fashion magazine Vogue stating that Sandu is among the 10 most expensively dressed presidents in the world.
The image featured real photos of Sandu wearing various outfits, with captions claiming the outfits were purchased at Chanel and Giorgio Armani for tens of thousands of dollars. The image spread in English, Russian, Romanian, Czech, and Italian, with some sources suggesting that Sandu’s expensive wardrobe is evidence of corruption.
Actually: The image is a fabrication and was not published by Vogue, according to a NewsGuard review of the magazine’s site and social media accounts.
NewsGuard found via a reverse image search that the distinctive pleated grey dress that Sandu is seen wearing in one of the photographs was likely made by the British brand Karen Millen, which typically sells dresses costing around $250 — not a Chanel dress worth $39,000, as the image claimed.
A growing campaign: NewsGuard identified seven videos and images accusing Sandu of corruption originating in pro-Kremlin Telegram and X channels associated with Matryoshka.
They included a fabricated cover of The Economist claiming Sandu is the “most corrupt president of Eastern European states” and a supposed BBC video claiming that Sandu helped an alleged mistress steal $24 million in government funds.
Reality Check members can read NewsGuard’s Misinformation Fingerprints targeting Sandu here.