site.btaDisinformation Undermines Democracy, Foreign Minister Neynsky Says

"Disinformation is not merely fake news. It undermines trust, divides societies, and weakens democracy," Bulgarian caretaker Foreign Minister Nadezhda Neynsky said here on Monday. She addressed the opening of the DisInfoHack 2026 final event at the Big Data for Smart Society Institute (GATE) Institute of the St Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia.

"Combating disinformation takes not only technology but critical thinking, knowledge, and the courage to ask questions. You are a generation that does not accept ready-made answers, and that is your strength. Bulgaria and Europe need exactly such young people: curious, confident and free, which is why your role is so important," Neynsky said.

"As foreign minister, I can tell you that a country's security depends not only on its borders but also on society's ability to identify the truth, and that security begins with you," she added.

DisInfoHack is an initiative under the three-year project Countering Disinformation Environment (Ecosystem) in Bulgaria (CoDE), aimed at strengthening information resilience through a scientific approach to research and analyze Bulgaria's information environment and build  best practices and tools for effective control of disinformation.