The self-proclaimed security ministry in Transnistria has claimed that a number of Telegram channels and media outlets are coordinated by Moldova’s Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) as part of an alleged campaign to discredit Russia and Transnistria. The separatist authority also published a list of the platforms it says are involved.
According to the de facto authorities, the list includes the Telegram channels and media outlets ЧЕРНЫЙ | БЕЛЫЙ СПИСОК ПМР, ЧБ ПМР Life Style, Республика ВГ, Топор live | ПМР, ЧТД Приднестровье, МОЛНИЯ ПМР, Приднестровье 112, 600 секунд МОЛДОВА, MOLDANALYTICS, PRIVIREA, НЕМОРАРЬ, Молдавский телескоп, Бессарабский, AVA TV, Начало Перемен, МОСТ | Приднестровье, Zona de Securitate, Приднестровье and Маленькая страна.
The separatist officials alleged that the administrators of these platforms publish content “on behalf of the people of Transnistria,” using socio-economic issues to create panic and tension among residents of the region and citizens of Moldova.
In response, Zona de Securitate rejected the allegations, saying the list also includes anonymous Telegram channels which, according to its sources, are themselves operated by the separatist security service and publish defamatory content targeting the outlet’s journalists.
The publication said such channels had allegedly been prohibited from using the Zona de Securitate logo or citing its reporting in order to avoid increasing the outlet’s visibility. It added that its sources had previously informed the newsroom that it had been placed on a list of organizations deemed dangerous by the self-proclaimed Transnistrian authorities because of its reporting on human rights violations, unlawful detentions, socio-economic conditions and the actions of the separatist administration.
Zona de Securitate described the move as part of a broader campaign to discredit its newsroom and influence public opinion in the region. It also argued that the inclusion of channels allegedly administered by members of the separatist security structures themselves was intended to mislead the population on the left bank of the Dniester.
The separatist authorities further claimed that the coordinators of the listed media platforms work closely with security structures in Chișinău to promote negative attitudes toward the self-proclaimed republic, distort historical events, misrepresent Russia’s role in maintaining peace along the Dniester, spread misinformation about the socio-political situation in the region and justify what they described as discriminatory actions by the Moldovan authorities against residents of Transnistria.
At the same time, residents of territories controlled by the separatist administration were urged to report any attempts by journalists from the listed outlets to contact them.