Data from monitoring carried out by the Promo-LEX Association from 2018 to the present has
demonstrated not only that hate speech is a frequent phenomenon in the Republic of Moldova,
but also that the process of prevention and combating it has required legislative changes, and
after 2022 requires the streamlining of the reporting – documentation – sanctioning cycle.

As we highlighted in the latest hate speech monitoring report, this type of speech is increasingly
being used in combination with manipulative messages and disinformation generated by both
real people and algorithms. In the period between the 2024 presidential elections and the start
of the election campaign for the 2025 parliamentary elections (September 2024 – August 2025),
a process of normalisation of hate speech took place, and the autumn 2025 election campaign
began in a public and online space already steeped in hate, intolerance and misinformation.

Data from monitoring carried out by the Promo-LEX Association since 2018 shows that the
authorities’ response to hate speech is insufficient compared to the number of cases identified by
civil society. Despite the actions taken by the General Police Inspectorate (GPI), the Audiovisual
Council (AC) and other institutions, the number of complaints is declining. This is why research
into public perceptions of hate speech during last autumn’s parliamentary elections provides an
important basis for analysing and evaluating the actions taken and those planned to prevent and
combat hate speech both during and outside election periods.

This analysis was carried out based on data from the sociological study ‘Citizens’
perceptions of the quality of elections and the functioning of democratic processes in the
Republic of Moldova’.

The report is also available in Romanian and Russian.