The Government’s spokesman Daniel Vodă believes that the people of the Republic of Moldova have demonstrated an extraordinary lesson of democracy to the Kremlin. And despite the money allocated for disinformation, despite the scares launched, the people decided that the Republic of Moldova is a state that irreversibly anchors itself in the European community space. The statements were made at a public debate entitled "The referendum has passed. Is hybrid war continuing?".
"I want, as a person responsible for debunking falsehoods, including for informing about the benefits of European integration, to note that we have been subjected to continuous disinformation. And, in some cases, we had to take out that stone thrown by someone into the lake instead of thinking about proactive messages and communicating the agenda of achievements, which is again a very ambitious and very thorough one," said the Government’s spokesman.
Daniel Vodă stated that there were fake news and scares not only in the information space, but also "at the grassroots" – in the country's villages and towns. It became clear that all the information campaigns were no longer conducted on TV, radio or social media. The information and explanations were to be promoted at meetings with people, in the houses of culture in each village, in towns, at cultural events, at social events.
According to Daniel Vodă, hundreds of millions of dollars from the Russian Federation were invested in propaganda, lies, disinformation. Not in roads, not in the water supply systems, not in repairs of schools and kindergartens, but in lies. In the last month alone, the police have documented $40 million invested in disinformation.
"I want to point out that in this campaign, we had a fierce discussion about the Government's information activity. In particular, there was criticism, in some cases justified, leveled by civil society, that the Government carried out for the first time in many years an information campaign funded with public money in the context of this referendum. But the investments made by the Government were clearly small compared to that crazy money that was pumped into the lies machine of those who propagated the Kremlin's narratives in the Republic of Moldova," said Daniel Vodă.
In his opinion, "we should not get drunk on cold water." The fact that the people were wise and resisted this misinformation does not mean that from tomorrow these lies will come less. "On the contrary, we will enter the slope of parliamentary elections and every element in society, every policy proposal will be antagonized and even fiercer debates will be generated. Therefore, the authorities must be more focused, and we will do so, on information actions, on concrete actions of transformation and modernization, on communicating those benefits that have already been achieved in the country's villages and towns – the "European Village" program, the Government's energy efficiency program, the social agenda, including in the cold period of the year, including the justice reform, which needs to be accelerated and be much firmer," said the Government’s spokesman.
As for the messages of interethnic hatred, messages of xenophobia, division and dissensions in society, Daniel Vodă said that these were generated by only one side, which is actually foreign to the interests of the Republic of Moldova. In his view, they come from outside, from the Russian Federation, which is a premeditated policy pursued by the Kremlin.
"Twenty years ago, a spokesperson of a Russian Foreign Ministry said something and those words were valid. Well, now, if this says something, we know that those assertions are actually widespread lies. Society, including Russian speakers, is very critical of these statements. On all television sets, in discussions, including with journalists who look in the eastern direction, everyone admits that these are stupid messages. Here in Moldova, the people coexist peacefully, as it should be in a civilized state," noted Daniel Vodă.
According to him, the authorities will continue to work on the critical spirit of society and on the country's narratives that the Republic of Moldova is a free, sovereign, independent state – as it is also enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. "It is a state with a profound pro-European orientation. The people decided on October 20 that the country's strategic objective is the integration into the European Union, which is a space of peace, tranquility, a space where there is no war and where the key word is the freedom of citizens," sad the Government’s spokesman.
The debate titled "The referendum has passed. Is hybrid war continuing?" was organized by IPN News Agency as part of the project "A fair and informed vote for a European Moldova", funded by the European Union and the German Marshall Fund.
