site.btaBulgaria Still Lacks Coordinated Shield Against Disinformation, Expert Warns

Bulgaria has yet to build a reliable shield against disinformation, Todor Galev, Director of Research at the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) told BTA on Thursday. He emphasized the absence of a coordinated national policy to address the issue. According to Galev, current initiatives stem primarily from civil society, the media, and private sector actors. Galev spoke during an international conference in Sofia titled "Law Enforcement in Digital Governance: Platforms, Disinformation, and Democratic Resilience," organized by CSD and attended by experts from several countries, including Romania.

Galev noted that Balkan countries often face similar challenges related to disinformation. “The narratives used in disinformation campaigns are very much alike in both countries,” Galev said, citing topics such as the eurozone and Schengen area as examples. However, he pointed out that national identity can shape how these issues are perceived. “The differences are mostly technical,” he explained. “In Romania, for instance, the dominant social media platforms are TikTok and Facebook. In Bulgaria, Facebook still leads, but over the past two years we've seen strong growth in other platforms like YouTube.”

Galev also highlighted a growing presence of Chinese media in Bulgaria since late 2023, a trend not yet as pronounced in Romania. He further warned about the platform Telegram, calling it “uncontrolled,” with no official media or institutions present on it.

As a positive example, Galev pointed to Romania’s national teacher training campaign, aimed at integrating media literacy across all school subjects. “This is crucial,” he said, “because students today interact with information primarily through the internet”.