The first meeting of the Bulgaria Working Group brought together experts from civil society, academia, journalism, and government to examine Bulgaria’s disinformation landscape. The session served as a testbed for methodologies used in the CIDC-Sensika Disinformation Observatory and launched a six-month collaborative process.

Key Themes Discussed:

• Most disinformation narratives are foreign in origin (e.g., Russia, U.S.), but localized for Bulgarian audiences.
• High-risk demographics include youth, rural communities, and economically insecure groups.
• Disinformation channels include Telegram, Facebook, YouTube, and mushroom websites.
• Prevalent themes: NATO alarmism, EU fear-mongering, public health misinformation, anti-NGO sentiment, and national identity distortion.
• Participants identified emotionally charged keywords like “Third World War,” “Sorosoids,” and “Demonocracy.”

Next Steps:

• Refine taxonomy and classification methods.
• Expand narrative tracking in the Observatory platform.
• Coordinate upcoming meeting on national disinformation landscapes.