Original subtitles

Welcome to Global Eye from the BBC World Service

and welcome to Alaska - America's last frontier -

just 55 miles from Russia.

This vast, untapped wilderness

is more than seven times the size of the UK.

But rising temperatures mean Alaska's ecosystems,

cultural heritage and way of life are under pressure.

TRAIN HORN HONKS

I'm Ana Holligan

and I'll be your guide for this week's showcase

of the best of the BBC's global journalism

from the World Service.

Later on, I'll be looking at why what happens here

matters to the rest of the world.

And we'll be in Pakistan following a unique group of women,

the last of their kind,

on a very special journey.

But first, we're taking you to Moldova in Eastern Europe,

where voters are due to go to the polls in a general election

this weekend in a contest that's on a knife edge.

The BBC Eye Investigations team has gone undercover

to expose a pro-Russian group using disinformation

to influence the election result.

Moldovan state intelligence accuses Russia of spending record sums

in an attempt to fix the election outcome on Sunday, September 28th.

BBC Eye goes undercover

to expose how fake news is shaping Moldova's future.

As the pro-European PAS party goes head-to-head

with a coalition of pro-Russian, anti-EU parties,

is Russia now trying to rig Moldova's elections?

Moldova, a country of 2.4 million on the edge of Europe,

narrowly voted yes to joining the EU last year

in a referendum marred by extensive allegations

of Russian interference.

Moldovan citizens were reportedly paid

in return for protesting against joining the EU.

The police say these illegal payments

were organised by Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor,

now living in exile in Moscow.

With crunch elections approaching, Shor has taken the gloves off,

openly offering to pay for protests against the government.

The authorities have called Shor's offer of payment

"blatant election interference."

Moldova goes to the polls this Sunday, 28th of September,

in a crucial election to choose a new parliament.

Moldova's most senior police officer

believes that record funding

is being smuggled in to swing this election.

Hi, Ana.

Throughout the campaign,

BBC Eye reporter Ana has been undercover

to infiltrate an apparent new phase in the operation -

a fake news network.

Four months before the elections, we obtain instructions

to join a private, invitation-only channel on Telegram,

the secure messaging app used by the network

to organise its activists.

Ana poses as a would-be trainee.

After passing the vetting, she gains access to the channel.

It's called Electoral Hackathon.

Inside are 35 recruits

who are invited to attend online lectures

on how to be paid to influence elections

while posing as ordinary members of the public.

On completing the course,

Ana receives a direct Telegram message

from one of the organisers,

a woman called Alina Juc.

Online searches reveal

she comes from Moldova's breakaway pro-Russian republic -

Transnistria.

Instagram posts also show regular trips to Russia.

And then we discover that Alina appears on

the website of Eurasia.

This is the oligarch Ilan Shor's banned campaign group,

and she is described as a leader.

She has a job for Ana.

Conduct opinion polls about the election on the street.

In return, Ana will be paid 600 Moldovan lei

or £25 for each poll completed.

Alina had arranged a meeting at an office in the capital city,

Chisinau.

Proceedings are led by a Russian voice on speakerphone.

Moldova Mare is a pro-Russian political party.

The party's policies are from a familiar playbook,

promising to make Moldova great again

using an anti-Western platform.

They will be told to say they are from pollsters Free Democracy,

but their questions will attack the government

and promote Moldova Mare and their candidate,

Victoria Furtuna, known for her close links to Russia.

A former anti-corruption prosecutor,

Furtuna resigned while accused of leaking data

from a criminal investigation.

The case never went to trial

and 18 months later,

Furtuna is now running as an MP for Moldova Mare.

We asked Furtuna's deputy

if they too had links to fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor.

A week after the briefing,

Alina invites Ana to take part in her first polling event.

Alina briefs them over lunch.

The recruits have been given a series of questions to ask

while polling members of the public.

They are told to secretly record those who talk to them.

Alina hands the group a questionnaire

to be answered by members of the public.

It says they are from the European Centre

For The Study Of Public Opinion,

"Free Democracy."

An entity that does not appear to exist

and is not registered with Moldova's Electoral Commission...

..making their polling illegal.

The team are asked to read out questions

that contain known falsehoods about the current government.

After the polling,

Ana is added to another private Telegram channel

called The Brigade,

along with six other newly-appointed group leaders

overseen by Alina Juk.

Then Alina calls with another job offer.

Mm-hm.

Ana will be paid £130 a month

to create social media profiles and put out daily posts.

And then Milena reveals a vital piece of information.

Milena confirms Ana will receive a payment from TSB Bank in Moscow,

owned by the Russian state

under international sanctions and linked to Ilan Shor.

After this, Ana is instructed to create a series

of fake Facebook and TikTok profiles

and given daily instructions on posting,

talking down the current government

or supporting Shor's paid protests.

Many of the requests contain outright lies.

Just as the election campaign was about to begin,

the network we've infiltrated suffers a major setback -

Moldova's Electoral Commission blocks four parties from running.

For Alina's influencer brigade,

this means their candidate, Victoria Furtuna,

is suspended from running in the election.

Mm-hm.

Mm-hm.

Alina and her backers have pivoted,

placing their support behind a new group of Socialist MPs

formed only days earlier.

Alina and her canvassers

are now polling for the New Patriotic Bloc.

They poll the public for several hours.

Ana still hasn't been paid by the network.

She meets up with Alina to settle accounts.

Alina pays her salary of £100 plus expenses

for taking part in four polls to date.

The BBC later donated the cash to charity.

Ana presses Alina on the purpose of their canvassing.

ANA GIGGLES

Alina reveals her group is just one brigade

in a much larger digital army,

all with the same marching orders.

The following evening, they meet again at the bus stop,

where Alina receives an unexpected call.

Alina seems overwhelmed by the task in hand

and urgently needs more cash.

Ana has caught Alina in the act,

requesting money from Russia to pay for her campaigning in Moldova.

Russian officials continue to insist

their government is not interfering in Moldova's elections.

Ana arranges a final meeting with Alina

to ask what is the fundamental purpose

of the polling she's been doing?

Alina suggests that if the election doesn't go their way,

the illegal and loaded polling they've been doing

could be used to claim that the vote was rigged.

Following an appeal and just 18 days before the election,

Victoria Furtuna and her Moldova Mare party are allowed to stand.

For voters, the bitter political wrangling is unsettling.

But there is no doubt the fake news is being seen.

We identified 90 TikTok accounts that appeared

to be part of the same digital brigade as Ana.

They posted the same messages on the same days

we were instructed to.

Moldova's population is only 2.4 million,

but these accounts alone receive more than 23 million views

and over 860,000 likes.

The results will be heavily disputed,

but whoever wins next Sunday's election,

the damage from a tidal wave of disinformation

will be felt for years to come.

And you can see the full investigation on iPlayer now.

Alaska feels like nowhere else I've ever been.

Peaceful, endless sweeping mountain ranges.

The gateway to Asia.

Alaska's governor calls it the most strategic place on Earth.

It's actually closer to Tokyo than its fellow US state of Hawaii.

Alaska was part of Russia until it was sold to the US in 1867,

and in August, the capital city, Anchorage,

played host to a high stakes meeting between

the Russian leader Vladimir Putin

and US President Donald Trump over the future of Ukraine.

For many, Alaska is considered an untapped asset.

On his first day in office, Donald Trump vowed to unlock

this state's bounty of natural wealth.

His administration have pushed for drilling and mining

on public lands.

Drill, baby, drill.

We have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have.

The largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth.

And we are going to use it.

Alaska's not for sale!

Across Alaska, these proposals are being hotly debated.

Proponents believe it would ensure US energy security into the future,

while critics say this would jeopardise local communities,

livelihoods and Alaska's unique climate.

A third of this state lies within the Arctic Circle.

Yet this summer, for the first time ever,

Alaska issued an official heat advisory

and wildfires are becoming increasingly common.

There's another challenge too.

The melting ice is destabilising the land,

weakening buildings, buckling roads and threatening pipelines.

Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable.

Some have been displaced because the land is no longer inhabitable,

and traditional fishing and hunting practices

have also been disrupted because the melting ice

affects animal migration routes and fish populations,

meaning there are existential challenges

to these traditional ways of life.

But how do events here in Alaska affect the rest of us?

According to a 2023 climate assessment

carried out for the US federal government,

Alaska is warming faster than the global average,

which means the impacts are felt here earlier and more intensely.

But it also means the people are highly motivated

to try to find solutions and are looking for answers

that could help the rest of the world.

You can hear my full documentary about the fight

against climate change,

Alaska's Wild Solutions,

next month on People Fixing The World.

Listen on BBC Sounds.

And here's some other great journalism from the World Service

that you can catch this week.

For decades, there has been conflict between the Indian security forces

and armed Maoist rebels in the Bastar region.

BBC News India has spoken exclusively to the first woman

to rise to the rank of Maoist military commander,

to find out what drove her to a path of violence and extreme politics,

and then prompted her to leave again.

Watch on YouTube.

And on this week's edition of Americast,

the team explore the killing of Charlie Kirk,

including what made him so successful

and how dangerous a moment this could be for the country.

Listen on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts.

For centuries, the Wakhi shepherdesses have been the economic

backbone of their remote community.

The work of these women who trek across high altitudes,

often barefoot and accompanied by their children,

to graze their flocks, is a symbol of resilience.

But their way of life is dying out.

Farhat Jawad, from the BBC's Urdu Service,

joined the Wakhi shepherdesses on one of their final epic journeys.

Deep in the Karakoram mountains of northern Pakistan,

a centuries-old tradition is about to unravel.

Every summer, the Wakhi shepherdesses travel

for several days from their home in the Shimshal Valley to Pamir.

The last of their kind, they have endured the elements...

..and secured a future for their children.

This is their life's work.

They migrate to keep the herd fed and healthy.

A timeless way of life soon to be forgotten.

Annar is the oldest and the leader of the group.

At 88, this will be her last trip.

It's a tough three-day trek up to Pamir at 16,000ft,

almost 5,000m above sea level.

Shimshal Valley remained disconnected from the rest

of the world until the early 2000s.

The Wakhi people relied solely on shepherding and agriculture.

In the summer, men farming in Shimshal

and women shepherding in Pamir.

Averaging eight hours a day, they are undeterred.

For centuries, dozens of women, young and old,

would spend their summers here.

Today, there are only seven shepherdesses left

in their community.

Living in the wilderness comes at a cost

in this constant balance between life and death.

Living in such a harsh environment with no access

to health care meant children from the Wakhi community

had a high mortality rate.

On that trip alone, 12 children died.

Pamir in the summer.

Looking after the herd is just one part of the job.

Nothing was ever thrown away.

Shepherding alongside their dairy products

turned out to be a hugely successful business.

Their shepherding marked a turning point for their community.

Together, they funded the only road out of the valley.

This linked the villagers to the Karakoram Highway,

which spans Pakistan and China.

What would take days to cross was reduced to hours.

In less than a generation, Shimshal was transformed.

Bano's son Wazir leads a very different life.

Fazila is also part of this new generation.

Unlike her mother and grandmother, she was given a choice.

The valley's connection to the world

brought with it new ideas and opportunities.

The end is close.

The hardest trek is behind them.

Shimshal Pass marks the arrival to the pastures.

Pamir is in sight.

It's time to celebrate.

THEY SING

The new generation is venturing into new ways of life.

Without women like Anar, Bano and Afroz,

this new chapter in the lives of the Wakhi people

wouldn't have been possible.

That's all from Alaska. Global Eye will be back next week.

Thanks for watching.