Viorica Tătaru

Tătaru works as a journalist for TV8 as part of its news broadcasting service, and is based in Chișinău.^[1][2] Alongside camerman Andrei Captarenco, Tătaru produces and hosts the television news programme Dincolo de Nistru (lit. 'Beyond the Dniester'), which reported on the experiences of people living in Transnistria in the decades following the Transnistrian War between 1990 and 1992.^[3][4]

In 2022, a man made threats to seriously harm and kill Tătaru online. Tătaru reported the threats to the police, though the indivudal was not arrested until 2025 after he initially fled Moldova. Following his arrest, he pleaded guilty to the offences and publicly apologised to Tătaru.^[5]

On 24 January 2024, Tătaru and Captarenco were detained while reporting on a protest in Tiraspol, the capital of Transnistria, over the Moldovan government's decision to tax imported and exported goods coming to and from the region.^[2] They were taken for questioning by officials from the Transnistrian Ministry of State Security, were they were filmed being interrogated and made to delete footage they had recorded of the protest.^[6][7] Tătaru and Captarenco were released after three hours and transported to the border with Moldova.^[8] The Office of the Prosecutor General of Moldova's Office for Combating Organised Crime and Special Cases subsequently opened an investigation into the journalists' abduction.^[2]

In March 2026, an online smear campaign started against Tătaru after she reported on a flash mob held on 21 March in memory of Ludmila Vartic, a teacher who had died on 3 March after reportedly experiencing years of domestic abuse from her husband.^[9][10][11] Rumours posted online alleged that Tătaru was related to Vartic's husband's alleged mistress, which were shared hundreds of times on social media outlets including Facebook and Telegram. The Centrul pentru Jurnalism Independent, a non-govermental media organisation based in Moldova, reported that many of the accounts sharing misinformation about Tătaru appeared to be fake or automated accounts.^[1][12] On 25 March, Tătaru filed a police report stating she had been slandered; while one of the accounts subsequently published a retraction on Facebook, many others continued to post misinformation about Tătaru.^[13][14] The Office of the Prosecutor General had not responded to the situation as of 24 March.^[9]

The Committee to Protect Journalists called on Moldovan authorities to investigate the smear campaign against Tătaru and to ensure that journalists in Moldova could report freely without fear of reprisals.^[1] A statement signed by eight Moldovan media organisations stated that "disagreement with journalistic work cannot in any way justify the use of threats, insults, slander, or other acts of harassment".^[12]