How Moldova won: a case study on defeating Russia’s disinformation war
Sab 18 aprile 2026
15:00
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In the run-up to Moldova’s crucial September 2025 elections, the country became a frontline in Russia’s information war. Kremlin-aligned narratives flooded TV, social media and messaging apps—aimed at undermining trust in democracy, Europe and the state itself. Yet Moldova did not fall.
This panel unpacks how a crucial alignment of Moldovan journalists, independent media and civil society blunted the impact of one of the most aggressive disinformation operations in Eastern Europe—despite limited resources and intense political pressure.
Panelists will explain the mechanics of the disinformation campaigns, the role of investigative journalism in exposing coordinated influence and the fight to regain public trust amid propaganda fatigue. Crucially, they will show what actually worked, what failed - and what lessons other democracies can learn ahead of their own elections.
Moldova offers a rare case study of defensive success against a state-sponsored information war. As elections worldwide face foreign interference, Moldova’s experience provides a practical playbook for media operating under pressure.
Moderated by Daniella Peled.
Organised in association with the Institute for War and Peace Reporting.
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Valeriu Pasa
Valeriu Pașa is a Moldovan policy expert, senior analyst, and founder and chairman of the WatchDog.md civic think tank. He began his career in 2007 as a researcher, later working in public administration and as a political consultant. His expertise spans advocacy and electoral practices, media policies, and countering disinformation and propaganda. Pașa has provided consultancy for several presidential, parliamentary, and local election campaigns. He has also led various initiatives aimed at enhancing public resilience to both foreign and domestic disinformation, combating democratic backsliding, promoting women in politics, and strengthening the activism of the Moldovan diaspora. The efforts of WatchDog.md played a critical role in the 2020 presidential election and the 2021 parliamentary election. In 2022, Pașa co-authored a study on key security threats in Moldova.
Daniella Peled
Daniella Peled is Managing Editor of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. A journalist and editor with nearly 20 years experience of reporting foreign affairs, particularly from the Middle East, Daniella oversees all editorial content and production at IWPR. She has designed and implemented journalism training in many of IWPR’s areas of operation including Afghanistan and Iraq.
Peter Pomerantsev
Peter Pomerantsev is a Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, where he studies contemporary propaganda and how to defeat it. His book on Russian propaganda, Nothing is True and Everything is Possible, won the 2016 Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and was nominated for the Samuel Johnson, Guardian First Book, Pushkin House and Gordon Burns Prizes. It is translated into over a dozen languages. His two most recent books are This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality (Public Affairs, 2019) and How to Win an Information War: The Propagandist Who Outwitted Hitler (2024, Faber & Faber). His essay on authoritarian propaganda, entitled Memory in the Age of Impunity (2021, Coda Story), won the 2022 European Press Prize.
Lilia Zaharia Cravcenco
Lilia Zaharia Cravcenco is the Executive Director of Transparency International–Moldova, a fact-checker, and a media expert specializing in the prevention of disinformation. She has extensive experience in journalism, critical analysis of information, and media education, and she is also a media literacy trainer for journalists, students, and civil society representatives. In 2025, she was awarded the title of Ambassador of Critical Thinking, alongside actor Ion Jitari, for their work as hosts of the TV program Alo, TV8, during the Journalists of the Year Gala 2025. Previously, in 2013, Lilia Zaharia Cravcenco was named Journalist of the Year at the same gala.
Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo
Il Festival Internazionale del Giornalismo di Perugia è un evento annuale che riunisce professionisti dei media, esperti di comunicazione e appassionati di informazione da tutto il mondo. Si svolge nel centro storico di Perugia e offre conferenze, dibattiti, workshop e opportunità di networking sui temi più rilevanti del giornalismo contemporaneo.