On July 8, the program “Eurocracy,” aired on government-aligned media outlet POSTV, covered current events in Moldova. In the third minute of the broadcast, host Ioane Shaishmelashvili referred to Maia Sandu and her government as “executors of Deep State orders,” citing the use of force by Moldovan police against participants of an anti-Pride march on June 15 as evidence:
Host: “A clear manifestation of these orders being carried out was the LGBT Pride held on June 15 in Chișinău, Moldova. Not only did the Pride event take place, but it was accompanied by full police mobilization. Moreover, a parallel peaceful rally, in which clergy and supporters of traditional values participated with icons and crosses, was violently dispersed by the police without any cause.”
In the fourth minute, Shaishmelashvili cites the banning of TV channels and a political party as further proof of the low quality of democracy in Moldova: “Let me give you another example of Moldova’s democratic progress: since 2022, 11 TV channels have been shut down, and the Shor party was banned.”
Some of the information disseminated about Moldova is being manipulated and presented out of context. In reality: 1) A segment of the “March for the Family” participants deviated from the pre-designated route and attempted to breach the police cordon, prompting a police response; 2) In Moldova, TV channels had their licenses suspended for spreading disinformation and failing to properly disclose financial information, while the Shor party was declared unconstitutional by Moldova’s court. However, its members were allowed to remain in parliament and run in elections either independently or under other parties’ banners.
- What happened at Moldova’s Pride?
The Pride march in Moldova took place on June 15, organized by the GENDERDOC-M information center. On the same day, Moldova’s Socialist Party organized a parallel rally – the “March for the Family.” To prevent clashes between the two groups, authorities assigned them different routes. Despite this, some participants of the “March for the Family” attempted to break through the police cordon and approach the Pride event, prompting a response from Chișinău police (1,2).
Footage released by the independent media startup Cu Sens shows participants attempting to break the police line. In one segment, a person dressed in clerical attire is seen on the opposite side of the cordon being detained by law enforcement. Therefore, the claim that police attacked anti-Pride marchers without reason does not reflect reality.
- What do we know about the banning of the Shor party and the closure of TV channels in Moldova?
In the same broadcast, the host compares the state of democracy in Moldova and Hungary, using the examples of the shutdown of 11 television channels and the ban on the Shor party to argue that Moldova is less democratic.
In December 2022, six Moldovan TV channels had their broadcasting licenses suspended for spreading disinformation about the Russia-Ukraine war and other topics. Four of these channels also retransmitted Russian media outlets that were banned by the Council of Europe as part of sanctions against Russia.
On May 3, 2024, it was announced that five more TV channels were banned due to links with fugitive oligarchs Vladimir Plahotniuc and Ilan Shor. Moldovan authorities accused them of failing to properly disclose information about their funding and of concealing bank accounts.
In 2023, Moldova’s Constitutional Court declared Ilan Shor’s political party, “Shor,” unconstitutional. In 2017, Shor was convicted in connection with the theft of $1 billion from Moldova’s banking system and sentenced to 7.5 years in prison. In 2019, he fled the country before the appellate court’s decision and sought refuge in Israel. The appeals court later doubled his sentence to 15 years. According to Moldova’s police chief, Russian intelligence services were using protests organized by the Shor party to destabilize the country. Despite the ban, the court allowed members of the Shor party in parliament to continue working. They were permitted to join other parliamentary groups or continue as independent deputies. Other party members were also allowed to participate in elections independently or under the banner of another party.
For more on the banning of the Shor party and the suspension of Moldovan TV channels, see Myth Detector’s articles:
- What Do We Know About Party Bans in Ukraine, Moldova, France, and Germany?
- Information about the closure of TV Channels in Moldova disseminated without context
The article has been written in the framework of Facebook’s fact-checking program. You can read more about the restrictions that Facebook may impose based on this article via this link. You can find information about appealing or editing our assessment via this link.
Read detailed instructions for editing the article.
Read detailed appeal instructions.
