site.btaBTA, BNT, and BNR on Frontline in Fight Against Disinformation, Says Council for Electronic Media Chair

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), Bulgarian National Television (BNT), and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) are on the frontline in the fight against disinformation, said Thursday Simona Veleva, Chair of the Council for Electronic Media (CEM). She took part in the international conference "Law Enforcement in Digital Governance: Platforms, Disinformation, and Democratic Resilience," organized by the Center for the Study of Democracy. 

Public media serve as pillars of verified information, capable of filtering out false, misleading narratives and informing society, Veleva pointed out. The main challenge, she noted, is that while facts are being clarified, false narratives often spread quickly across the internet. For this reason, other large media outlets, beyond traditional ones, also face challenges, but I believe they are handling this fight quite well. CEM is ready to support this process with the tools at its disposal, the CEM Chair added.

According to Veleva, people are informed not only by traditional media but also by dubious links and are influenced by opinions shared on social networks, which shape their perceptions of the world around them. “When information is not reliable, not sufficiently clarified, or contains correct facts but leads to false conclusions, we are talking about disinformation. Citizens bear responsibility for which information and sources they trust, she emphasized. Media literacy is the key to tackling disinformation,” she said.

Veleva also noted that CEM is involved in various media literacy initiatives, for example, the Council has developed recommendations for screen and online usage of information sources by children, which the Ministry of Education has distributed. She believes that adults have a responsibility in shaping the media habits of their children. Veleva emphasized the importance of strategic communication from the state, especially when a disinformation narrative emerges. In such cases, responsible institutions should not amplify or trust it, but promptly debunk it.