site.btaDisinformation Is Ongoing Process, GATE Director Says

Disinformation is not a crisis but a constant and evolving process, GATE Institute Director Prof. Sylvia Ilieva said on Monday during the final event of DisInfoHack 2026 at Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski.

She stressed that from the outset of the CoDE project, the goal had been to build a sustainable network and ecosystem for countering disinformation. According to her, although this ambition initially seemed large-scale, by the end of the project it has become a tangible direction achieved through the joint efforts of the partners.

Prof. Ilieva noted that contemporary disinformation is no longer limited to textual content, but also includes images, video and content generated through artificial intelligence, which significantly accelerates its spread and complicates counteraction.

According to her, initiatives such as DisInfoHack, which she described as a "slow hackathon", play a key role in building a sustainable approach. Within the format, participants work through real cases, analyze complex issues and collaborate with experts from various fields, including journalism, technology and institutions.

Ilieva underlined that this interaction creates a genuine ecosystem of knowledge and skills necessary for effectively combating disinformation. She expressed hope that the initiative will continue to develop and bring together even more participants each year.

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. Its goal is to research and analyze Bulgaria’s information environment, as well as to compile best practices and tools for effectively countering disinformation.