site.btaGallup Poll: 34% of Adult Bulgarians Claim to Have Come Across Fake News in Past Week

Sofia, August 3 (BTA) - The results of an express telephone poll, conducted by Gallup International among 800 respondents between July 30 and August 1, were announced here on Friday. A total of 34 per cent of respondents claim to have come across fake news during the past week, show the survey results. This adds up to over 1.8 million adult Bulgarians.

According to the poll, the protests of mothers of disabled children, together with other protests from recent weeks, are seen as an indicator of true problems by Bulgarians. In light of this, the public expects the State to intervene more convincingly when important issues are concerned.

According to the poll, this could partially explain the overall mistrust in the news about the ovine rinderpest outbreak in the southeastern region of Strandzha: 37 per cent of respondents believe there was an outbreak, compared to 48 per cent who don not. The remaining are undecided. According to 68 per cent, the authorities have not done a good job in addressing the problem, while 26 per cent are of the opposite opinion. The rest are undecided.

The recently suspended CEZ deal is met with a 64 per cent approval, while Socialist leader Kornelia Ninova's call for more State involvement in the economy, made via her party's new Vision for Bulgaria programme, is approved by even more Bulgarians - 73 per cent. President Rumen Radev's recently imposed veto on the Privatization and Prost-Privatization Control Act amendments has the highest approval - 75 per cent. Increasing the excise duty on heated tobacco units is approved by only 45 per cent, compared to 47 per cent who do not approve of it.

The protest of mothers of disabled children, together with other social protests from recent weeks, are seen as an indicator of true problems by 69 per cent of respondents. Eight per cent see political ambitions as the leading force behind the protests, while 18 per cent admit they are not well-informed. The rest find it difficult to answer.