The extremist AUR party used a comedy show organized on Saturday evening in Constanța, which it later presented as a meeting with the “youth” of the party. In reality, the participants thought they were going to a “stand-up with free juices and snacks” and did not know that AUR politicians would give speeches, young people who participated in the event told Info Sud-Est. Even so, the hall was about 30 percent full than organizers expected, according to the ISE reporter who attended Saturday’s meeting incognito. On the Facebook page of the Constanța branch, photos were published of the participants who were presented as “the GOLDEN youth”, without them knowing that they were actually participating in an event that would be used electorally by the extremist party.
- This is not the first time that AUR has confiscated an event where people unknowingly become members or supporters of the party. The party led by George Simion confiscated a show at the Masca Theater, leaving A4 sheets on the seats with messages of support for the Romanian theater, and at the end of the play the spectators were asked to pick up the posters. Later, the head of AUR Sector 6 posted a message on Facebook that it was an event organized by the extremist party. The theater renounced the politicization of the event. Details here.
- The AUR’s communications office and George Simion did not respond to G4Media and Info Sud-Est’s requests for comment.
- Even the representatives of AUR Constanța did not submit a point of view at the request of the reporters.
A stand-up comedy show with Paul Mirea, former participant of iUmor, was promoted online (including sponsored posts) and through flyers that were distributed to young people between the ages of 16 and 35. The flyers were laid out in the colors of the AUR party, and the location of the event coincided with the headquarters of the branch in Constanța, but nowhere in the announcements promoting the comedy show was it stated that it was the headquarters of the party. Moreover, the “comedy” program did not mention speeches by AUR politicians from Constanța and nothing that could induce the idea of a party meeting or political debates, young people who participated in the event told ISE.
The only connection with AUR was that in order to benefit from free entry to the comedy show and to receive “free juices and snacks” you had to register on the AUR platform, which meant entering your name, date of birth and number phone. In the next steps in the application, more information was requested if you wanted to become a supporter or AUR member, but this was not mandatory to participate in the event.
Later, AUR Constanța published pictures from the “stand up” without mentioning anything about the comedy show, the comedian Paul Mirea or the fact that the young people were there for an entertainment event, not knowing that it would be presented as a political one. AUR published pictures from the politicians’ speeches saying that they spoke to the “AUR youth” and that “The future of AUR sounds good”:
- “The AUR Constănțean youth organized a socialization action at the party’s county headquarters. It was a good time, an opportunity to socialize, but there were also serious discussions on this occasion. The future of AUR looks good!-
