In this pre-election period, Moldova’s independent media and civil society are being tested as never before. They are experiencing a coordinated campaign of disinformation, intimidation, and strategic pressure, and the suspension of US foreign assistance risks severely weakening civil society and independent media.
EED has long supported the country’s courageous journalists and media entrepreneurs, particularly those working in underrepresented regions and languages, including outlets such as the leading independent TV station TV8, Newsmaker.md, RISE Moldova, laf.md from Gagauzia, and MOST, reporting on Transnistria. Following the announcement of the cut in US funding, EED provided emergency funding to nine key media partners, which was instrumental in ensuring their survival during this challenging period.
Today, many democracy actors and independent media are operating under immense strain: editorial budgets slashed overnight due to the dramatic cuts in funding, pro-Russian propaganda flooding the digital space, journalists facing harassment online and offline, and public trust undermined by polarised political rhetoric.
The sudden withdrawal and suspension of U.S. funding in early 2025 triggered a cascade of shocks to Moldova’s fragile media infrastructure. For some outlets, US funding made up 70 to 100 percent of operating budgets.
“There is no such thing as independent media in Moldova without external support,” warns Aleksei Tulbure, former ambassador and Chief Executive Director of the Oral History Institute of Moldova. “If Western donors withdraw, media outlets either shut down or are sold to political or pro-Russian interests. Then we can no longer talk about independent media.”
For Tulbure, the stakes are not theoretical. His team recently had to suspend the popular current affairs show Trigger, and to close an outreach programme in northern Moldova. They had no more budget to produce the popular De Facto videos that debunk disinformation. “We only managed to relaunch Trigger thanks to an emergency grant from EED,” he adds. Trigger’s funding has since been reinstated, and the EED grant is now being used for the show Eurointegration in Focus, which was also suspended due to the US foreign aid suspension.
One outlet, MOST, a new Russian-language media initiative focused on bridging divides with the Transnistrian region, was launched in January—only to learn two weeks later that its sole grant had been suspended. “We launched in January 2025, right in the middle of an energy crisis in the region, and just two weeks later we were informed that our funding had been entirely suspended. Our only funding source at the time was a USAID grant received in December. Thanks to emergency assistance from EED, we managed to continue our work,” says its editor Evgeniy Cheban.
Others, like NewsMaker.md, a respected national news platform, were also hit hard. “We laid off five staff and had to suspend video production,” says Olga Gnatkova, Development Director. “We only managed to survive thanks to a small emergency fund and short-term European support. The grant suspension was lifted, but the budget gap remains.”
TV8’s situation is similar. The station lost €500,000—25 percent of its annual budget—when American grants were frozen. “We had to shut down two of our most-watched public service shows,” says Senior Editor Mariana Rata. “Some of our best journalists left for public television because we couldn’t offer any job security. We’re barely holding on.”
Local and minority-language media are particularly vulnerable. In Gagauzia, laf.md is now the last independent voice publishing in both Gagauz and Russian. “We’ve faced cyberattacks, intimidation, and massive disinformation efforts,” says Vitali Gaidarji, Executive Director of Media Birlii. “There is almost no official cooperation anymore. People believe the false narratives. We don’t even have enough funds to keep staff employed.”
The pattern is clear: emergency aid may keep lights on, but not enough to meet the mounting operational, digital, and legal demands of credible journalism in an election year.
The country ranks 35th on the RSF World Press Freedom Index—higher than many peers but slipping. “There is no BBC in Moldova,” Tulbure notes. “Independent media is entirely donor-driven. Without that, only the oligarch-owned or Kremlin-affiliated channels remain.”
The local advertising market, once around €20 million, has now reached a historic low of €7 million that is divided between 20 television channels, according to Mariana Rata of TV8. Television outlets face cartel-like conditions where politically connected stations flood the airwaves with Russian content at dumping prices, capturing two-thirds of the national advertising pie. “Independent channels like TV8, Jurnal TV, and Pro TV have already slashed rates by 15% just to survive,” warns Rata. “If this continues, it will drive serious journalism out of television altogether.”
Online platforms face parallel challenges. Google and Meta dominate digital ad revenues, leaving little for domestic news providers. Media ownership remains opaque, and pro-Russian outlets with hidden funding streams routinely outpace ethical competitors in reach and volume. Investigative outlet RISE Moldova lost 70% of its budget after a U.S. grant was terminated in April. “We’ve shut down tools for investigations, cancelled legal support, and lost our video editor,” editor Iurie Sanduta shares “This has severely crippled our ability to do deep reporting.”
The withdrawal of donor support coincides with an aggressive and well-coordinated disinformation campaign led by pro-Kremlin actors and the exiled oligarch Ilan Shor. Through a shadowy network of influencers, media portals, and social channels—often funded in cash and operating across Telegram, YouTube, and TikTok—this ecosystem floods Moldova’s information space with propaganda. New reporting confirms that Eurasia Foundation operatives are offering grants to regional bloggers, sponsoring youth events in Russia, and deploying fake news against journalists and NGOs.
“In Gagauzia, we are being offered cash to promote Shor’s content,” said Mihai Peicov, who leads a minority-focused civil society initiative in southern Moldova. “We refused, but others may not. These tactics are sophisticated, dangerous, and widespread. Our own team has been targeted by bot farms, disinformation attacks, and intimidation. This is no longer just a political problem—it’s a national security issue.”
RISE Moldova recently uncovered that a Russian lawyer linked to military units is behind Salut MLD, a fake youth group spreading anti-EU content across social networks. Their research shows coordinated narrative campaigns and foreign interference directly tied to Russia’s military-intelligence circles.
“This is not just an election,” Tulbure warns. “This is a battle between narratives. Russia is trying to control Moldova politically—without bombs, without troops, just through stories.”
Despite shrinking resources, Moldovan journalists are not retreating. Outlets are planning wall-to-wall election coverage, including investigations into campaign finance, voter bribery, and Russian influence. TV8 will produce an 18-hour election marathon. NewsMaker is scaling up its pre-election explainer content and live streams from sensitive areas. MOST is preparing a series on disinformation in Transnistria. Trigger is offering commentary in both Romanian and Russian, trying to build trust and civic understanding. Meanwhile, groups like Peicov’s are running media education projects for national minorities—often with little more than personal commitment and EED’s support.
The demand is there. Recent polling shows over 58 percent of Moldovans still back EU accession. In Chișinău and the central regions, trust in independent media remains relatively high. But support drops sharply in Balti, Gagauzia, Taraclia, and Cahul, where Russian narratives dominate. “If we don’t invest now in credible, accessible media,” one EED partner warned, “those regions could become political lost zones.
Moldova’s democratic future depends on a free, functioning, and diverse media ecosystem. Donors and European institutions must act urgently. According to EED’s partners, three areas are particularly urgent:
EED’s partners firmly believe that the collapse of independent media in Moldova is not inevitable, however they warn that if pro-Russian networks succeed in flooding the public space with unchecked propaganda while silencing independent voices, Moldova’s democratic aspirations are under threat.
