site.btaUPDATED Factually Incorrect Narratives Are Disappearing from Online Media but Persist on Social Platforms - Analysis

Factually incorrect narratives are disappearing from online media but continue to persist on social platforms, said Todor Galev, Director of Research at the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD). Galev presented an analysis on disinformation based on research conducted by CSD, which organized a forum on "Democracy Shield Against Russian Disinformation: Economic and Information (In)Security" on Tuesday.

A growing trend is the focus on negatively framed statements presented out of context, which are prominently featured in headlines, relying on quick sharing rather than on reading full articles. The latest growing trend is that these statements mostly quote Bulgarian politicians or political commentators, Galev said.

At the beginning of 2024, there were over 20,000 articles in online media on Bulgaria's Schengen accession and nearly 15,000 on the eurozone. However, in January 2025, the number of articles on both topics dropped to fewer than 5,000, Galev said. At the beginning of both 2024 and 2025, there was a peak in articles about the eurozone containing disinformation.

According to the analysis, topics related to the war in Ukraine are also subject to disinformation.

Program Director Ruslan Stefanov said at the opening that Europe is under attack. Ukraine was invaded by Russia in 2022, and before that in 2014. In fact, for ten years now, there has been a disinformation campaign. He stressed that its goal aligns with Russia's long-term geopolitical and geostrategic interests, the disintegration of the European Union.

"Bulgaria has always been - and still is - one of the most vulnerable points in Europe when it comes to implementing common defences against disinformation," Stefanov said.

He also noted that a significant number of parliamentary political forces, knowingly or unknowingly, support disinformation messages. "Europe has developed numerous countermeasures, but their enforcement is very unsatisfactory in certain EU countries, especially in Bulgaria," Stefanov added.

Nikola Miladinov, Press and Media Officer at the European Commission Representation in Bulgaria, said: "The European Commission has never censored, does not censor, and will not censor its critics. The greatest thing about democracy is the freedom of choice - every person's right to form their own opinion and, through voting, determine how the society they live in should be governed.

"As citizens, we often fail to realize how powerful our choice is - a force capable of changing the course of history. This is one of our most valuable assets, which we sometimes underestimate. There are individuals, organizations and foreign governments that recognize the hidden power of the free citizens and attempt to turn it against them," he said.

"Disinformation is a tactical psychological weapon. It deliberately distorts reality, amplifying specific narratives to influence public opinion, confuse people and undermine their faith in values, institutions, statehood and the media," Miladinov said.

Martin Vladimirov, Director of CSD's Geo-economics Program, talked about disinformation in the energy sector. The main disinformation narratives against wind energy are environmental, socio-economic and political:

• environmental - the impact of wind farms on ecosystems and biodiversity is exaggerated;
• socio-economic - the negative impact on fishing and tourism, as well as claims of economic inefficiency, are overstated;
• political - offshore wind energy is linked to militarization in the Black Sea and accused of being driven by lobbying interests.