Far-right political leaders are increasingly relying on conspiracy theories as the backbone of their campaigns, not only to rally supporters but also to create a captivating spectacle of disinformation, exploiting fears surrounding religion, LGBTQ+ rights and public health to polarize societies and amplify their programs. . Călin Georgescu has emerged as a new case study in how these strategies are localized while echoing global far-right rhetoric. Georgescu’s rhetoric draws on deep-rooted fears about national identity and cultural purity, often presenting external forces as existential threats to Romania. While Trump evokes Christian nationalism to rally American evangelicals, Georgescu presents himself as the protector of Romania’s Christian heritage. Likewise, Georgescu’s anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-vaccine speeches mirror the tactics of Bolsonaro and Orbán, illustrating how far-right conspiracies are shared, rebranded, and weaponized across borders, unified by the same principles. However, in the face of such theatricality, memes emerge as powerful tools of resistance, revealing the absurdity of these claims and undermining their polarizing intent.
For Georgescu, the attack on Christianity is at the heart of his far-right agenda. He frequently warns that Romania’s Christian identity is threatened by “globalist elites” and “secular forces” determined to eradicate traditional values. In a speech, he claimed that Romania’s sovereignty was being eroded by the European Union’s promotion of multiculturalism, which he called incompatible with the country’s Christian roots. This rhetoric closely reflects Viktor Orbán’s concept of “Christian democracy”, which he uses to justify anti-immigration policies and resistance to European liberalism. Orbán said: “We (Hungarians) are not a mixed race…and we do not want to become a mixed race,” a sentiment that aligns with Georgescu’s veiled criticism of immigration and foreign influence.
Georgescu’s rhetoric also draws comparisons to Donald Trump’s alignment with Christian nationalism. Trump defended “Merry Christmas” as a cultural rallying cry, portraying secularism and immigration as existential threats to American Christian values. Like Trump, Georgescu presents himself as a defender of tradition against an invasive and godless globalism. Both leaders invoke the so-called “Great Replacement” theory, a conspiracy according to which Christian populations are being systematically replaced by immigrants and non-Christian communities. Similarly, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro has warned that “Christian values” are under siege from progressive ideologies, citing fears of moral decadence to rally his evangelical base, echoing Trump’s claims that “global elites” are pulling the strings progressive movements. This conspiratorial rhetoric about Christianity not only solidifies their base, but also justifies exclusionary policies – it masks systemic problems like inequality and corruption, diverting public attention to manufactured cultural battles under the guise of protection of tradition and faith.
Călin Georgescu echoed far-right rhetoric by presenting LGBTQ+ rights as a foreign imposition threatening Romania’s traditional values. He described LGBTQ+ advocacy as “cultural colonization” driven by Western liberalism, describing it as an attack on Romanian families and national identity. This reflects Viktor Orbán’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies in Hungary, where his government has banned content promoting homosexuality to minors and defined such actions as necessary to protect traditional families. Orbán’s rhetoric about “defending children” has become a central theme of far-right campaigns, conflating LGBTQ+ rights with predatory behavior – an insidious trope also exploited by Georgescu. Similarly, Donald Trump has railed against “woke” culture, using it as a catch-all term for progressive movements, including LGBTQ+ rights. During his presidency and candidacy, he repeatedly attacked transgender protections and banned transgender people from serving in the military.
Jair Bolsonaro, for his part, went even further, calling LGBTQ+ rights a “gender ideology” designed to corrupt children and destroy family values. In an infamous speech, Bolsonaro said: “But we cannot let this place (Brazil) become a gay tourism paradise. » Georgescu’s rhetoric closely aligns with that of Bolsonaro in his alarmist presentation of LGBTQ+ rights as a threat to national sovereignty. Both leaders are amplifying baseless claims that LGBTQ+ activism seeks to indoctrinate children, creating a moral panic to rally conservative voters.
The weaponization of “woke” culture extends beyond LGBTQ+ rights, targeting broader progressive movements. In Romania, Georgescu frequently presents feminism, environmentalism and multiculturalism as threats to societal stability, echoing Bolsonaro’s attacks on indigenous rights and Trump’s criticism of environmental regulations. This goes beyond portraying individuals against Georgescu as part of the LGBTQ+ community, using this rhetoric as derogatory and as an anti-nationalist symbol. This broad-based demonization of progressivism is a calculated strategy to create a common enemy for supporters of the far right, uniting them under a common sense of cultural and moral decline.
The Covid-19 pandemic has provided fertile ground for far-right conspiracy theories, and Georgescu has used the opportunity to promote his own brand of medical conspiracies. He has repeatedly called vaccines a tool of population control, saying they are part of a globalist agenda to weaken national sovereignty. In one of his viral interviews, Georgescu spoke at length about his belief that COVID-19 is a hoax and that the pandemic was a test to see how far governments could control the population – a claim that echoes a broader anti-vaccine rhetoric around the world. good movements.
Donald Trump has downplayed the severity of COVID-19, calling it a “Chinese virus” and promoting unproven treatments like hydroxychloroquine. Similarly, Jair Bolsonaro called COVID-19 a “little flu” and actively opposed vaccination campaigns, presenting them as government overreach. Viktor Orbán’s approach to COVID-19 conspiracy theories reveals another layer of strategic ambiguity. While Hungary initially embraced Western and Russian vaccines, pro-state media amplified doubts about the vaccines’ effectiveness, fueling public distrust. Georgescu is using a similar dual strategy, leveraging existing vaccine hesitancy in Romania – already one of the highest in Europe – to bolster his anti-globalist agenda.
These public health conspiracy theories are deeply linked to distrust of government institutions and science. Far-right leaders are exploiting this distrust to position themselves as champions of individual freedom, presenting public health measures as threats to personal autonomy. Georgescu’s rhetoric about “medical sovereignty” exemplifies this tactic, as does Trump’s framing of public health restrictions as attacks on American freedoms.
Călin Georgescu, like his far-right counterparts, understands the power of spectacle. The more sensational the claim, the more media attention it receives, regardless of its factual accuracy. The presidency of Donald Trump was a real lesson in this strategy. His attacks on the media as “enemies of the people,” his baseless claims about voter fraud, and his inflammatory rhetoric on immigration all served to grab headlines and rally his base. Jair Bolsonaro employs similar tactics, using outlandish statements to distract from scandals and policy failures. Georgescu’s adoption of TikTok as a platform for his conspiracy-laden rhetoric demonstrates how far-right leaders are adapting to the digital age, ensuring his messages reach wide audiences, particularly young voters and the Romanian diaspora. This approach mirrors the digital strategies of Trump and Bolsonaro, both of whom have relied on social media platforms to amplify their spectacles.
Faced with this theatricality, memes have emerged as a powerful tool to counter far-right conspiracies. Digital countercultures use humor and satire to deconstruct the absurdity of far-right claims, turning them into objects of ridicule rather than fear. For example, Georgescu’s claims about vaccine conspiracies inspired Romanian meme creators to mock his pseudo-scientific rhetoric, referencing his claim that Pepsi contains nanochips. Similarly, Trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign has been widely parodied, with memes highlighting the irony of his baseless claims about election fraud. Bolsonaro’s crocodile vaccine comment became an international meme, illustrating how humor can undermine even the most outlandish conspiratorial claims.
Although memes have been widely used in far-right campaigns, they can also serve a dual purpose: to delegitimize far-right rhetoric and to create a sense of community among those who oppose it. By distilling complex issues into shareable humorous content, memes make it easier for individuals to engage with and challenge misinformation – they reduce fear and hostility, promoting critical thinking and resilience in the face of extremist narratives .
The rise of Călin Georgescu in Romania illustrates how far-right leaders use conspiracy theories to construct captivating spectacles of fear and division. From portraying Christianity as under siege to demonizing LGBTQ+ communities to spreading anti-vaccine rhetoric, Georgescu’s tactics mirror those of Trump, Bolsonaro and Orbán. These leaders use their cultural anxieties as a weapon to consolidate their power, often at the expense of truth and social cohesion. Yet in the digital age, resistance is not in vain: memes are proving to be powerful tools for undermining far-right conspiracies, exposing their absurdity, and reclaiming the narrative. As the battle for public discourse intensifies, the role of creativity and digital literacy in combating misinformation will only become more important.
Further reading on international electronic relations