Russia is preparing a “Romanian scenario” in the Czech Republic, focusing on anonymous TikTok profiles

Hundreds of anonymous accounts on the video-sharing platform TikTok are becoming increasingly active in spreading pro-Russian narratives and supporting radical parties ahead of the Czech elections on October 3 and 4, a non-governmental group has reported. Online Risk Labs, a newly formed group of Czech analysts, said it had discovered 286 TikTok accounts that were sharing content with each other. Together, they have between 5 and 9 million views per week, which is more than the combined reach of the leaders of the main parties, the group said.

“The accounts do not align with a single political party, but simultaneously show support for several radical and extremist parties,” the statement said.

Nearly a quarter of Czechs use TikTok, which is a smaller proportion than in Romania, where last year’s presidential election was annulled due to allegations of Russian interference via accounts on the platform. Russia has denied the allegations.

The Czech telecommunications regulator CTU said it had received several complaints about hundreds of TikTok accounts.

“We assessed these comments as appropriate and forwarded them to the European Commission as the supervisory authority for large platforms,” the CTU told Reuters, adding that it is in contact with TikTok.

The TikTok accounts flagged by Online Risk Labs expressed support for parties including the far-right SPD, which is in third place in most polls with around 13% support, and the far-left Stacilo! party, which polls suggest could exceed the 5% threshold needed to win seats, the group said. Both parties say the country should leave NATO and the European Union.

Online Risk Labs said the candidates promoted to these positions were not necessarily aware of this.

The latest polls ahead of the parliamentary elections show former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s opposition ANO party with a large lead over Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s center-right SPOLU party. ANO may need the support of SPD and Stacilo! to form a majority./Klix.ba/