Who was behind the vast influence operation that led, on Friday, December 6, to the annulment of the Romanian presidential election by the country's top court? One month after the start of this operation − in which over 100 influencers were paid to back far-right pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu − its organization and financing have begun to come into focus.
The Romanian intelligence services were able to confirm that numerous videos were circulated, mainly on TikTok, by influencers who had answered a classified ad on a specialized platform, FameUp. Other TikTokkers were solicited directly through email by a little-known marketing agency.
The intelligence reports, declassified this week, also cite the obscure "FA Agency," a marketing company supposedly based in South Africa. This agency sent emails to influential Romanian figures, offering them the equivalent of €1,000 to publish political videos, supplied in turnkey form, "for the well-being of Romania" and in order to "play a role in the country's future."
The "FA Agency" website, faagency.org, offers little information. It presents itself as the showcase for an African influencer agency, a description that matches the one given by the Romanian authorities. Nonetheless, new evidence uncovered by Le Monde has suggested that FA Agency is not run out of South Africa at all, but is actually a shell company managed from chic offices in the Polish capital, Warsaw.
Indeed, a small network of around 10 accounts displaying, on their profiles, the email address faagency.org, began appearing on Instagram over the past six months. These accounts, generally using pseudonyms and nicknames, present themselves as influencer and marketing specialists. Yet an analysis of their photographs and "stories" has shown that this small group of colleagues works out of the same brand-new rented offices on the banks of the Vistula in Warsaw.
The employees featured in these photos are overwhelmingly Ukrainians working in Poland, with links to "affiliate marketing," a semi-legal online advertising sector that has historically had a large presence in Ukraine. A study of their Instagram profiles has revealed an office life of Halloween parties and bar-hopping. Several "stories" reveal trips to conferences for affiliation professionals, mainly in the healthcare and gambling sectors. Still, on their LinkedIn profiles, which are accessible under their real names, none of the employees identified by Le Monde mentions FA Agency or any other marketing company.
You have 33.66% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.