site.btaGoogle News Initiative, Association of European Journalists-Bulgaria, FactCheck.bg Launch New Partnership to Combat Election Disinformation

The Google News Initiative (GNI), the Association of European Journalists-Bulgaria (AEJ-Bulgaria) and FactCheck.bg, an online platform for examining the authenticity of information in the media environment, have launched a new partnership to combat election disinformation, AEJ-Bulgaria said on Wednesday. The initiative was joined by the Data for Good and Fair Elections organizations, which have a proven track record in fighting disinformation and monitoring election fraud.

This is the second collaboration between GNI and AEJ-Bulgaria after the tech company also supported the journalism organization’s fact-checking and skills development efforts for young journalists in 2023.

Bulgaria has faced elections every year since 2021. On October 27, Bulgarians headed to the polling stations for the tenth time in just three years, electing national MPs on seven occasions. This is not only a European record, but also a worrying trend for the Bulgarian party system. The ongoing election cycle has plunged the country into an almost permanent election campaign mode, creating many difficulties in countering disinformation.

Strong journalism is the best defence against disinformation, but it requires the presence of strong and independent media. That is why the initiative aims to serve as a start of a coalition against disinformation, inviting journalists from national and local media, large and small media, to collaborate with the best experts in fact-checking, election security and data analysis.

On the occasion, a one-day pre-election seminar with the participation of journalists from more than ten Bulgarian media outlets and disinformation and election experts from Factcheck.bg and Fair Elections was held on October 24. The meeting analyzed existing issues and earlier false and manipulative stories that have influenced the electoral process in Bulgaria.