When asked which country or organization they believe supports propaganda, disinformation, and spreads fake news in Romania, 45.3% of Romanians who responded to an INSCOP Research survey indicated Russia. In second place is China, with 11.8%. The sociological research was conducted by INSCOP Research at the request of Funky Citizens. The data was collected from 1,000 respondents in the second half of December 2024 (December 16-23), after the canceled presidential elections and the parliamentary elections on December 1. The maximum allowed error is +-3.1%, with a 95% confidence level. The question was open-ended, meaning that respondents did not have to choose between several options, but could directly indicate an answer. A considerable percentage, 33.9% of respondents, did not know how to indicate an answer.
Survey: Which Countries Do Romanians Believe Spread Propaganda on Our Territory?
Also questioned what direction Romania should be heading – East or West -, 87.5% of those surveyed answered that our country should head West, an increasing percentage compared to January 2022.
9% of Romanians believe that Russia and China have a rather positive influence on Romania, while 80.4% indicate the US and the EU as the answer.
Another open question in the INSCOP survey was related to the trust that Romanians have in NATO, the European Union, the US and Russia. Most – 69.7% – indicated NATO.
The EU and the US follow at the top (increasing percentages compared to January 2022). From January 2022 to December 2024, trust in Russia decreased from 18% to 5.9%, according to INSCOP.
By age group, people over 60 have the most trust in NATO (80%), followed by young people between 18 and 29 (76%). Those in the 30-44 age group have the least trust in NATO (59%). When it comes to the EU, the age group with the most trust in the bloc is 18-29 (78%), followed by people over 60 (69%). Romanians in the 30-44 age group have the least trust in the EU (59%).
People over 60 have the highest level of trust in the US (67%), followed by young people in the 18-29 age group (60%). Here too, the Romanians with the lowest level of trust in the US are those in the 30-44 age group (52%). The 18-29 age group has the highest level of trust in Russia (13%), followed by the 30-44 age group (8%). People over 60 have the lowest level of trust in Russia (2%). In fact, of the 69.1% of Romanians who say they would vote, in theory, for a nationalist candidate, 81% say they would change their option if that candidate proposed a rapprochement of Romania with Russia.