Today, a member of NATO and the European Union took a step nearly unheard of that's throwing out the

results of an election. That's what happened in Romania, a country that's been vital to Ukraine's

efforts against Russia and also hosts U.S. troops. Romania's constitution annulled the results because of what

the sitting government calls a vast influence effort by a foreign actor to boost the candidacy of a candidate dubbed pro-Russian.

As Nick Schifrin reports, the effort was largely run on TikTok.

In 2024, when a Romanian strongman wants to prove his manhood,

he goes on TikTok, and Kalen Jorgescu's opponents say,

if this campaign looks like the Kremlin's playbook,

it's because he admires Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin is a leader. He loves his country.

Scorns NATO and Ukraine.

Ukraine is an inventant state.

And dabbles in conspiracy theories.

Did man reach the moon? I don't think so.

He was also largely unknown, one of 14 candidates running in Romania's presidential election.

On November the 5th, Georgescu polled under 1 percent.

Three weeks later, he won the first round with 23 percent.

Romania's government says that victory was thanks to foreign influence, and for the first

time in the country's history, declassified intelligence documents that describe a, quote,

campaign to circumvent Romanian law to boost Kalen Georgescu's popularity.

And the government says that campaign relied heavily on a well-coordinated popularity-boosting campaign on TikTok.

Romanian intelligence says tens of thousands of TikTok accounts suddenly activated right before the election,

...