Marked by illegal algorithmic leveraging through undeclared financing leading to a presidential election crisis, the Romanian political climate has proven unstable over the last few months. The synopsis goes as follows: in December 2024 the first round of the presidential election saw a surprising lead by Calin Georgescu, a far-right, anti-NATO nationalist. His unexpected success is tied to a strong social media presence, particularly on TikTok, and raised concerns about potential foreign interference, specifically from Russia.

In response to these concerns, Romania’s Constitutional Court annulled on the 6th of December the first-round results, citing allegations of electoral violations and interference. This unprecedented decision led to widespread protests in Bucharest, with tens of thousands demanding the continuation of the electoral process and criticizing the annulment as detrimental to democracy.

It is imperative we ask ourselves what force was behind this ideological shift. The pseudoscientific podcast declarations of Calin Georgescu and the internalised conspiracist narratives of the Romanian public are suggestive enough. The answer could lie in a fusion of the systematic underestimation of pseudoscience and the declining rates of education. The combination makes intellectualism affordable to any person. Current research on neuroscientific studies finds that people tend to prefer irrelevant neuroscientific information if it contains specialized jargon, regardless of whether it’s logically sound or not. These findings could suggest that the online pseudo-intellectual nonsensical discourse could be appealing to people because it has a deceptively thin academic layer.

It is not coincidental that 34% of Romanians think humans co-existed with dinosaurs and that Georgescu thinks the lack of spirituality is the new cancer. “Pepsi contains microchips,” “man did not land on the moon,” “water is not H2O” are some of the statements our presidential contender proudly divulged. In general, the public sphere is becoming polarized between critical thinkers and pseudoscience advocates, therefore strengthening in-group sentiment. This group identification leads to further propagation of anti-scientific beliefs and a likelihood to endorse new conspiracies. His wife, an “energy-balancing” therapist licensed in holistic health, is not a lesser connoisseur in matters of science. Her blog propagates the typical anti-vaccination rhetoric, stating that the tetanus vaccine, and the tuberculosis vaccine, are useless. Together, their misinformative rhetoric leverages conspiracy theories and appeals to religious and anti-establishment sentiments, resonating with individuals who distrust global institutions and modern science.

Therefore, it is not surprising that in a country with limited level of scientific literacy, but with one of the highest numbers of TikTok users in the EU, a politician with low-context videos in a short format using pseudo-scientific jargon would attract a large audience. As Romania approaches its future re-elections in May 2025, the threat of shifting away from democracy should urge people to view the political discourse more critically.