We built up a mountain of followers in a year. Our main Facebook page doubled its number of followers, from 52,226-page likes in September 2019 to 115,051 at the end of August 2020. We gained a mountain of pride and fulfillment too. However, there were heaps of data to dig, loads of corruption schemes to uncover, and so much effort to move confidently with the ZdG team.

In August 2020, the top most-read articles and viewed video stories were articles about corruption and human rights violations.

The most-watched investigation video of August 2020, in Romanian Language, on zdg.md, was “The Portrait of a Head of National Penitentiary Administration (Part II): One More Undeclared House and Instructions Given to a Subordinate in Obscene Language.” Over 235,000 people viewed the ZdG investigation on our Facebook video page.

At the end of June, ZdG wrote that Serghei Demcenco lives in an undeclared luxurious house; ZdG found that the National Penitentiary Administration’s deputy director has another undeclared residence. Meanwhile, the ZdG team got hold of several telephone conversations, revealing Demcenco’s obscene language to a subordinate. The story was highly appreciated, shared, and commented on by ZdG readers.

In August 2020, the most viewed material of ZdG, the Romanian version, on YouTube, was the investigation “Metalferos File: Vladimir Plahotniuc Appears as Direct beneficiary from State Businesses,” gathering 36,000 views.

The oligarch controlled state factories and benefited financially from his official position. Prosecutors confirmed the information revealed by ZdG that Vladimir Plahotniuc, former leader of the Democratic Party, was a beneficiary of several offshore companies. He obtained millions of dollars from Metalferos, a joint-stock company, in which the state is the major shareholder. Our Youtube community liked the story, offering comments and appreciation to reporters. 

The Best Social Stories

The story of pregnant women in the COVID-19 section, “I have to be able to go on, I still have a baby to give birth to,” was the most read social article on the ZdG website. The social story gained attention among our 10,000 subscribers to the ZdG print edition and social media. The report depicts pregnant women’s resilience for the sake of their babies and their future.

The article ” Paid Volunteers and Donations That Do Not Reach Their Destination” was among the most read surveys of ZdG, with 142,000 views. The article reveals the unfair scheme of using stories of families with children with disabilities to raise money.

More than 700,000 people watched ZdG reports on farmers’ protests. The draught of summer 2020 dried up workers’ hope of collecting a decent harvest calling for protests.

ZdG thanks all our readers. Each record of articles and video reports achieved by the ZdG team is accompanied by the help and support of those who read us. People tell us they trust ZdG. They are looking forward to reading our investigations and stories with accurate information. Readers consider ZdG reporters brave, fearless, well-documented, and professionals. September brings a tight presidential political campaign, corruption and coronavirus are still in power,  and people need to speak out about it. We need our people’s voices. Thank you, ZdG readers for your trust and encouragement!