„She was a girl from Bucharest, Doinița. (…) I was nice enough to let her use my place to legally register her business.” Who was „Doinița,” and how did she find her way into AUR’s political ranks, via PSD?
Dozens of pro-AUR political websites were paying to amplify propaganda and conspiracy theories on social media, investigative outlet context.ro revealed in June 2024. The same phenomenon was reported by adevărul.ro at the end of November, following the first round of the presidential elections.
These websites and their associated Facebook accounts posted „articles” and messages promoting Călin Georgescu while discrediting Elena Lasconi, the two finalists set to face off in the second round.
The most aggressive sites include 60m.ro, digipres.ro, ropres.ro, criticii.ro, and curierulromanesc.ro.
Below are some telling headlines:
60m.ro
„Marius Lulea (AUR): Coup d’état in Romania. Institutions must respect the vote of Romanians and the constitutional order, siding with the people.”
„Risk of boos at the December 1 parade. Iohannis, hated by Romanians.”
„Lasconi wants gay couples to be able to adopt children! AUR opposes.”
„Ciolacu doesn’t understand that 70% of PSD voters will choose Călin Georgescu. Romanians no longer tolerate betrayal.”
„Antena 3 and Gâdea attack Georgescu. They are the forces of darkness.”
„Tension in society is growing. The Iohannis clan must stop before it’s too late.”
digipres.ro
„The election contestation maneuver: a failed coup to victimize Lasconi. The system is collapsing.”
„Călin Georgescu: ‘The Romanian people are the only ones who matter’ – a message of mobilization and truth.”
„Lasconi is drunk, claiming USR will win 25% in parliamentary elections.”
„Toxic Coalition USR-PSD-PNL wants a state of siege like during the pandemic.”
„PSD betrays its sovereignist electorate through a toxic alliance with USR imperialists.”
„Betrayal: PNL sent Lasconi to the second round. Bolojan sides with globalists.”
„System parties betray the will of Romanians. The sovereignist wave overthrows the regime’s oligarchs and pharaohs.”
The so-called „articles” published on these websites have nothing to do with journalism, despite one of them (curierulromanesc.ro) branding itself as the successor to the historical Curierul Românesc—the oldest newspaper in Wallachia, first published in 1829 under Ion Heliade Rădulescu’s patronage.
The internet domains mentioned above are owned by DGI MULTIMEDIA DESIGN SRL, a company founded in 2019 by Doina Grosu, a 31-year-old woman from Moldova.
She was married for a time to Marius Benchea, the former president of PSD in Gheorgheni (Harghita). She also coordinated the unionist organization Acțiunea 2012 in Iași, which was founded by George Simion.
DGI handled AUR’s campaign in 2020 as well as the 2024 campaigns. Upon its establishment, the company declared its headquarters at an address in the village of Orzeni, Holboca commune, about 11 kilometers from Iași. The house at that address is shown in a photo (Ziarul de Iași).
In August 2023, a woman named Ana Brâncoveanu, residing at the same address, announced the loss of a property title. Ana Brâncoveanu had also established a company in 2018 at that location, MY DIEZ IN TIME SRL, with advertising as its primary business activity.
Interestingly, another company, MYDIEZ SRL-D (now ADD EVENT), was established at the same address in 2015. This advertising company is owned by Alexandru Brâncoveanu.
Ana and Alex Brâncoveanu also founded an NGO in January called Asociația Dafin. According to its website, the association is „a place where we educate through art and inspire with passion.” It aims to be a community dedicated to „transformation through education, using modern and innovative artistic means,” ranging from music to stand-up comedy, theater, painting, digital graphics, gastronomy, psychology, IT technology, photo-video production, marketing, and financial education.
Alex Brâncoveanu notes on the site that the association is not only an educational center but also „a promoter of social change and inclusion.”
He is also a politician. Currently, he is the vice-president of the Iași branch of the Social Liberal Humanist Party (PUSL), founded by Dan Voiculescu. In the 2020 elections, he was fourth on the PUSL Iași list for the Chamber of Deputies, while Ana Brâncoveanu was listed 15th.
According to his Facebook page, in 2016, he was part of the PNL team for the Local Council (CL) of Holboca.
Alex Brâncoveanu explained to PressHub journalists how the pro-Călin Georgescu propaganda company ended up being registered at his home.
„There was a girl from Bucharest, Doinița. I know that Ms. Doinița was in the AUR party. I have nothing to do with AUR or with parties affiliated with Călin Georgescu. I’m with PUSL, Mr. Voiculescu’s party. We’re not interested in AUR because we know how toxic they are,” said Alexandru Brâncoveanu.
He claimed he wanted to be courteous to „Doinița,” who at the time was dealing with issues involving her ex-husband.
„She was going through a really bad time with her husband (…) and I was kind enough to help her since she had nowhere to register her business to work legally. I didn’t take any money for it. I broke off contact with her, told her to close the business there, and to stop showing up because I sold the house. I still have one company registered there, and my mother has another. Plus, the association we run together is also registered there. We’re in the process of moving the headquarters,” he added.
DGI later moved its registered office to the city of Băicoi (Prahova County), at the home of Ciprian Jumolea, the leader of the local AUR organization. On her personal Facebook page, Doina Grosu claims to be married to Jumolea.
The change in DGI’s headquarters was recorded in the Monitorul Oficial on December 16, after the first round of the presidential elections, which had been annulled by the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR).
On December 19, PUSL posted a message on Facebook addressing „fake news.”
„In an increasingly noisy world where false information travels at the speed of light, trust and truth are the only things that can bring us together. Without them, respect is lost, and the bond between people and between citizens and their representatives is broken. Romania needs unity, respect among people, and decisions based on real facts, not lies and manipulation.We, PUSL, know that only through truth can we build a stronger and more united Romania. We believe in a country where respect and trust are defining values. Don’t fall for rumors and fake news. Choose truth, choose to see beyond the noise. Romania deserves better.”
