DISINFO: Documents show Moldovan President Maia Sandu has schizophrenia
SUMMARY
It has emerged that Moldovan President Sandu suffers from a mental illness -she allegedly suffers from schizophrenia and panic attacks-, for which she was treated in Austria. Since Sandu has Romanian citizenship, she could also run for a parliamentary/presidential mandate in Romania. Romanians fear that it is acceptable for a person with such a diagnosis to hold such a high public office, and it is still unclear whether Sandu has completed her treatment.
RESPONSE
No evidence is provided to support the claim, which has not been reported in any actual outlet beyond hardcore pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and social media chats. The document shown in these posts is almost certainly a forgery.
The allegation is part of a massive Russian interference operation ahead of Moldova’s presidential election and EU accession referendum which took place on Sunday 20th October 2024.
Pro-Kremlin outlets and channels frequently resort to forged or dubious documents such as “evidence” to support pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives. See other examples, such as claims that declassified intelligence proves France planned to send combat troops to Ukraine, that Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel asked Spain to grant citizenship to Zelenskyy’s sons, that Olena Zelenska was the first to buy the new Bugatti model, or that Western pharma tested drugs on babies in a hospital in Mariupol.