"Before the first missile struck our neighbour Ukraine, the first weapon was the lie."
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Maia Sandu
14 min read
The article centers on President Sandu's speech and Moldova's democratic struggle. Understanding her background, rise to power, and the political context of her presidency provides essential context for her warnings about hybrid warfare.
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Transnistria
12 min read
Understanding the Russian-backed breakaway region within Moldova's borders is crucial context for why Moldova is particularly vulnerable to Russian hybrid warfare and why the country feels existential pressure from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
On October 29th President Maia Sandu addressed the Paris Peace Forum. This year, more than 15 heads of state and government, as well as 25 ministers, as well as more than 4000 participants attended the discussions.
President Sandu spoke about the urgent need to recognize and confront the massive challenges that democracies face due to hybrid attacks on their information spaces. I chose the opening line of her speech as the title for this article. When I first read it, I was immediately reminded of the 2019 HBO miniseries “Chernobyl.” A key theme of this series was that lies were not simply instrumental or tactical in the Soviet system - they were part of the strategy that underpinned the entire system. Similarly, when President Sandu said that “the first weapon was the lie” she did not mean a single lie, or even a Big Lie, but an attempt at the destruction of truth itself.
In her speech she leverages the recent experience of the Republic of Moldova to speak to key challenges faced by democracies everywhere. Free speech in the age of state sponsored bot farms and AI, the fact that social media algorithms make money from sowing division and hate, and the inability of any one country, especially a small country, to tackle these challenges on their own.
I found the speech to be both thought provoking and bold. President Sandu does not shy away from controversial ideas or from topics that could put her in the crosshairs of American big tech companies. I’ve chosen to share the speech in full because I believe these themes will return again and again in the coming years as all democracies seek to adapt to the present moment.
President Maia Sandu’s speech is published below in full. You can find it published on the website of the Presidency in English.
Your Excellencies,
President Macron, President Mahama, Prime Minister Pashinyan, Prime Minister Edi Rama,
Distinguished guests, dear friends,
It is an honour to speak here today — at a forum that reminds us that peace begins with truth, and that truth itself must be defended.
Before the first missile struck our neighbour Ukraine, the first weapon was the lie.
By the time the tanks crossed the border, the groundwork had been laid: Ukraine’s very right to exist had been mocked, and every effort had been
...This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.