Media relations and political labeling face scrutiny in Romania and Moldova

In Romania, the Prefect of Vaslui, Andrei Șerban, has faced criticism for reducing transparency by removing a journalist from the official WhatsApp communication group used by the prefecture to interact with the press. This action followed inquiries regarding driver's licenses found in Moldova and a lack of official communication following severe storms that caused power outages and agricultural damage in the region.

In Moldova, Olesea Stamate, founder of the Civic Movement ‘Construim Încredere’, has warned against the tendency of authorities to label inconvenient questions or criticisms of the government as ‘Russian narratives’. She emphasized that questioning the administration should not be automatically treated as an attack on the state.