May 16, 2025. Viralized topics on the net in the last 24 hours

The absolute dominance of topics related to the presidential election campaign, centered on the confrontation between Nicușor Dan and George Simion, continues. The findings below reflect the topics that generated the most interest among Facebook users, based on the top 100 viral headlines from the previous day.

One of the most viral topics was George Simion's language "slip", indirectly calling his opponent "autistic", generating media visibility and multiple reactions. The subject was covered by numerous sources such as [Știrile PROTV], [Digi24], [HotNews.ro] and [RomaniaTV], accompanied by analysis, subsequent denials and interventions by the CNCD.

Another consistent segment of interest was represented by the IRSOP poll, which showed a lead for Nicușor Dan, with results presented by publications such as [g4media.ro], [Antena 3], [tvrinfo.ro], [HotNews.ro], [epochtimes-romania.com], [observatornews.ro] or [aktual24.ro].

Various appeals related to voter turnout were also visible from public figures such as David Popovici (quoted by [HotNews.ro] and [Digi24]), Emil Boc (mentioned by [Digi24]), Tudor Chirilă (quoted by [Știrile PROTV]) and Alex Chipciu (mentioned by [golazo.ro]).

The controversy generated by George Simion's messages in an interview with a French TV channel also attracted public attention, being covered by platforms such as [g4media.ro] and [Antena 3].

ARTICLES WITH HIGH VIRALITY

1. George Simion, on Nicușor Dan: "You have a candidate you support, he's autistic, poor guy!" [PROTV NEWS]
2. Politico: George Simion, "unpredictable element" in Romania, worries Brussels [MARIUSTUCA.RO]
3. IRSOP poll: "Nicușor Dan leads on an upward trend and will probably win the elections". Ce procent has now George Simion [ȘTIRILE PROTV]
4. IRSOP poll: Nicușor Dan 52%, George Simion 48% / Nicușor Dan for president, Ilie Bolojan for prime minister, preferred by 51% of respondents [G4MEDIA.RO]
5. A renowned Romanian doctor delivered a tough message ahead of the elections: The alternative is awful. We can't allow this country to fall into the hands of a bunch of crazy people" [B1TV.RO]
6. Video George Simion calls Nicușor Dan autistic. Sociologist: 'You show what's in your soul, your mind'. Reacția contracandidatului și a CNCD [DIGI 24]
7. BREAKING George Simion, put on the spot by the moderator of a French TV station after accusing Emmanuel Macron of "dictatorial tendencies": 'If you already call your counterpart a dictator, that's promising for Romania's relations with France' / 'You are exactly taking Putin's arguments' [G4MEDIA.RO]
8. VIDEO Harsh message of a well-known doctor in front of hundreds of colleagues: "On Sunday we can't allow this country to fall into the hands of unbelievers" [HOTNEWS.RO]
9. Simion explains 'autistic candidate' incident. He misspelled "security guard" because PROTV "didn't have an appointment" for the statements [PROTV NEWS]
10. Video Emil Boc's message before the elections: "We took off for Brussels, be careful not to land in Moscow" [DIGI 24]

***** Synthesis made with the help of a monitoring feed provided by the NewsVibe Romania, team based on several online monitoring software. 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.