April 30, 2025. Viralized topics on the net in the last 24 hours

Televised clashes between the presidential candidates ahead of Sunday's elections continued to dominate the public's interest as they took to social media yesterday. The findings are based on an analysis of the top 100 headlines that went viral on Facebook on Tuesday.

The most salient topic that focused the attention of online audiences was the presidential election campaign, with a particular focus on televised debates and the attitude or performance of the candidates. The two showdowns, the one on Digi24 on Monday and the one organized by TVR on Tuesday, dominated public interest, each generating its own set of echoes and reactions, respectively. George Simion's repeated refusal to participate was intensely commented [Stiri pe surse, epochtimes-romania.com, HotNews.ro, aktual24.ro, Romania TV],

Victor Ponta was mentioned, in the context of the debates, in headlines that focused on his direct attacks on his counter-candidates, especially George Simion [RomaniaTV, News on sources]. Elena Lasconi generated viral reactions especially through her exchanges with Nicușor Dan [ziaristii.com, epochtimes-romania.com]. About Crin Antonescu, there were headlines emphasizing his appreciative message about Olguța Vasilescu [ziaristii.com], but also the support he received from a sovereignist politician [solidnews.ro]. Both debates generated intensely commented press content from various publications [e.g., HotNews.ro, Catavencii.ro etc].

Also in the political sphere, articles about the US Embassy's message generated interest, the interpretation of which varied depending on the source. Some headlines suggested that the statement implied the risk of non-recognition of the elections [inpolitics, activenews.ro, Realitatea], while others treated the subject in a factual key, stating that Vice President JD Vance was quoted [Digi24].

Another recurring theme was the war in Ukraine, with an emphasis on the geopolitical implications. Audiences reacted to news of Ukraine's offer of energy support to Spain and France amid power cuts [mariustuca.co.uk], Russia's rejection of a 30-day truce [biziday.co.uk], and France's accusations of Moscow-backed cyber attacks [biziday.co.uk].

ARTICLES WITH REDUCED VIRALITY

1. VIDEO. Elena Lasconi, funny on Digi 24: "Nicușor, I'm not taking you out on the blackboard, don't worry!" [ZIARISTII.COM]
3. George Simion does not want to face his opponents. He also skips the second electoral debate [NEWS SOURCES]
4. Ukraine offers energy assistance to Spain, Portugal and France after power cuts [MARIUSTUCA.RO]
5. Papahagi: Lasconi gets more votes from Simion than from Nicușor Dan. She must be encouraged to continue [EPOCHTIMES-ROMANIA.COM]
6. Presidential debate on TVR live. Nicușor Dan refuted the falsehood live on air: "I call on Romanians to vote so that this kind of filth no longer exists" [HOTNEWS.RO]
7. Somika, the little boy for whom the people of Sătmăreni mobilized, has gone among the angels [PRESASASM.RO]
8. Terheș lashes out at Simion in presidential debate: "A coward who runs away, swears at others, but runs away from debates" [EPOCHTIMES-ROMANIA.COM]
9. VIDEO. Crin Antonescu on Digi 24: "I am an admirer of Olguței Vasilescu, she would be a good prime minister. She was a good minister and an exceptional mayor" [ZIARISTII.COM]
10. France explicitly accuses Russia of carrying out cyber attacks on key state institutions for ten years in an attempt to destabilize the country. Both Emmanuel Macron's presidential campaign and the 2024 Olympics have been targeted [BIZIDAY.RO]
11. Relu Oroian, the coordinator of the children and juniors center of AHC Potaissa Turda, has passed away! [TURDANEWS.RO]

***** Synthesis realized with the help of a monitoring feed provided by the NewsVibe Romania, team based on several online monitoring softwares. The top viral links are measured based on the number of interactions generated on Facebook by topics from the Romanian online press. Virality is measured by the cumulative number of likes, comments and shares obtained by various links over the course of a day.