Strengthening institutional accountability and investigative journalism in Moldova with EU support

In October 2021, the investigative journalism organisation “Proiectul Media – CU SENS” was granted the status of ‘Personal Data Operator’ by the Centre for Personal Data Protection: something, which not many Moldovan media are entitled to. The status is important as it allows the newsroom to have direct access to multiple databases, and hence, to key information that they can use in their investigations and reporting. This was made possible thanks to the core support they received under the “COVID-19: Civil Society Resilience and Sustainability” project, financed by the European Union.

CU SENS is a media startup focusing on investigative journalism. Their fundraising strategy is based upon membership and, by January 2020 they had already seen 100 ‘members’ sign up and were on a trajectory to continue growing steadily. However, when the pandemic came along, and the number of members began to decrease. By the time they applied for support under the COVID-19: Civil Society Resilience and Sustainability project their monthly income had fallen by 50% and they had to cut some of their planned activities. The support also enabled them to purchase the required technical equipment needed as a Personal Data Operator, for example, ensuring the physical and online security of all their documents to minimize the risk of cyber-attacks and theft of personal data.

Obtaining the status took multiple attempts and a great deal of money, energy, time and expertise, but the outcome is a very important achievement for Cu Sens as it increases their ability to monitor how public funds are spent, investigate alleged illegal activity and keep the government accountable.

Alongside this, the core support provided allowed them to buy accounting and video-editing software. They also produced six video investigations aimed at unveiling cases of corruption and mismanagement of public money. The videos gained almost 130,000 views on Facebook and YouTube, and around 5,000 visitors to their website.

“Collateral Interests” was among the most successful investigative materials reaching over 60,500 views on Facebook. The inquiry focused on an illegal building scheme near the M1 motorway, which continued despite a construction ban. The investigation earned the immediate attention of the authorities including Andrei Spînu, the Minister of Roads and Infrastructure, who confirmed during a talk-show broadcasted on PRO TV that he learned of the events thanks to CU SENS’ report and declared that immediate action will be taken.

“The EU support granted through ERIM allowed us to be more confident in tomorrow amidst the harsh lockdowns. We were able to focus on revealing illegalities by various authorities. With this grant CU SENS obtained the status of a Personal Data Operator – which is still hard-to-achieve for most of newsrooms in the country. It will allow us to access multiple databases and records, increasing our ability to follow the public funds and identify the murky connections of the corrupt politicians”,

highlights Liuba Șevciuc, founder and administrator of CU SENS Media CSO.