TikTok and the Romanian Presidential Election
Project
In December 2024, the European Commission launched an investigation following “serious indications that foreign actors interfered in the Romanian presidential elections using TikTok.” The elections have been described as a “first big test” for “Europe’s digital police” and the Digital Services Act.
This ongoing research project investigates the role of TikTok during the 2024 Romanian presidential elections, including the platform’s use in post-election annulment reactions and mobilisations.
The project’s initial phase took place at the Digital Methods Winter School in January 2025, where we experimented with formats for retrospective display - drawing inspiration from creative coding, algorithmic composition, multiperspective live action replays, and the aesthetics of forensic reconstruction.
Read more: The great Romanian election TikTok replay, January 2025.
Mentions of the project:
- Sal Hagen, Daniël de Zeeuw and Tommaso Venturini, “Digital rhythmanalysis: Studying memetic and affective rhythms on the post-viral Web”, Platforms & Society 2 (2025). “one could also think of more experimental and multi-modal techniques […] e.g. Gray and Bounegru’s use of video composites and soundscapes to ‘replay’ TikTok’s rhythms during the Romanian presidential elections of 2024 (Bounegru, 2025)”
- Christine Dugoin-Clément, “GANs et IA génératives : un enjeu pour la désinformation et la guerre cognitive ?”, Partageons notre regard sur le monde, no. 6 (2025), pp. 31–35, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
- Foreign Interference: Threat to the Presidential Election?, LCP - Assemblée nationale, June 2026. Romanian elections research featured around 18:30.