site.btaInstitutions, Media Unite in Bulgarian Coalition against Disinformation

A Bulgarian Coalition against Disinformation with some 60 members has set itself the task to work against fake news and false content in digital media. The initiative has brought together the European Commission, representatives of several national institutions, including ministries and agencies, and Bulgarian media, it was announced at a news conference in Sofia's House of Europe on Friday.

Disinformation is circulating and causing a grave detriment to society: on the one hand, it misleads people, and on the other, it has serious economic implications for both ordinary people and businesses and for the entire business environment, said Cvetan Kyulanov, Acting Head of Representation of the European Commission to Sofia. 

e-Government Minister Bozhidar Bozhanov said that the fight against disinformation is a complicated process in which all experts should be involved according to their competencies. "The social media in general and Facebook in particular are one of the most active instruments of disinformation in Bulgaria," he said. The EC's Digital Services Act proposal, which is under discussion within the framework of the French EU Council Presidency, is a major instrument against disinformation,  said Bozhanov.

Bozhanov also said: "In the newly emerged environment, we see that ideas which were completely adequate six or 12 months ago are now subject to improvement. That is why the e-Government Ministry will insist that the existing provisions be improved so as to match the new situation."

Deputy Defence Minister Yordan Bozhilov also backed the initiative. "We can see that a war can be waged by all means - by military means, as well as through disinformation and propaganda," he said. The Defence Ministry will design and set up a unit dealing with strategic communication matters.

The platform https://factcheck.bg, dedicated to fact-checking, is a partner of the initiative.