site.btaEuropean Commissioner Gabriel: Fake News Jeopardizes Media and Democracy

European Commissioner Gabriel: Fake News Jeopardizes Media and Democracy

Brussels, January 15 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - The European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, said on Monday that, although fake news is nothing new or illegal, it gets spread very quickly and poses a threat to the image of the media and the values of democracy. The Bulgarian politician spoke to journalists in Brussels after the first meeting of an expert group of the European Commission whose job is to propose possible solutions to the problem of fake news.

Gabriel noted that digital technologies have transformed the ways in which the public obtains information. "The Internet provides an excellent avenue to exercise the freedom of expression and media diversity. But it also creates challenges in terms of politics, society and security," she said.

According to the Commissioner, the expert group should propose a mechanism for detecting fake news and preventing it from being spread. She said: "No one intends to make people believe or not believe a given piece of news. But unless the EU takes action, the situation can get even worse."

This spring, the expert group of the European Commission is expected to come up with a strategy against online misinformation. It will determine the magnitude of the problem and make recommendations. It is also supposed to suggest a definition of the term "fake news."

The group has 40 members selected from among 300-plus candidates. There are no Bulgarian journalists or professors among them, but Bulgaria is represented in the group by Veni Markovski of the Los Angeles-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and Dimiter Dimitrov of Wikimedia.