Disinformation Challenges and EU Parliament Operations Featured on Day Two of Young Journalists’ Program

In a move to strengthen media literacy and European understanding, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) and the European Parliament’s Office in Bulgaria continued their specialized training program for emerging journalists yesterday, focusing on EU parliamentary operations and the growing challenge of disinformation campaigns.

The second day of the intensive program brought together ten young journalists with high-profile speakers including MEP Kristian Vigenin, polling expert Parvan Simeonov, media scholar Ralitsa Kovacheva, and veteran broadcast journalist Desislava Mincheva.

Vigenin, who represents Bulgaria in the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats, emphasized his commitment to making European Parliament proceedings more accessible to Bulgarian citizens. “We are lucky to live in a Union that prioritizes human rights, whether on environmental issues, personal data or food safety,” he told participants, while acknowledging occasional regulatory overreach.

The Socialist MEP highlighted his current work with the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, where he concentrates on legislative simplification to reduce bureaucratic burdens on small and medium-sized enterprises. He expressed concern about the growing trend of omnibus legislation that combines multiple regulatory changes in single packages, warning that such approaches “complicate parliamentary work and blur policy boundaries” between critical areas like environmental protection and economic development.

Parvan Simeonov of the Myara polling agency provided participants with data-driven insights into how Bulgarians and other Europeans perceive EU institutions and policies. His presentation revealed sometimes contradictory public attitudes toward Brussels. “Politics is not about following public opinion,” Simeonov noted. “Sometimes it goes against it, because public opinion does not always reflect the public interest.”

The training took a practical turn when Associate Professor Ralitsa Kovacheva from Sofia University’s Faculty of Journalism and Mass Communications led participants through an exercise on verifying EU-related political claims, addressing a critical skill in an era of widespread disinformation.

Kovacheva highlighted a fundamental problem in EU media coverage in Bulgaria. “One of the main problems with how the EU is portrayed in the Bulgarian media is that it is mostly represented by buildings,” she observed. The academic advocated for more human-centered reporting, arguing that “one of the most important ways for the media to reach the audience’s heart is by finding a human face or a story behind an issue.”

Her comments reflect growing concern among media educators about the public’s disengagement from EU affairs, which are often perceived as bureaucratic and distant. This perception gap creates fertile ground for disinformation campaigns that target European institutions.

The day concluded with bTV Media Group correspondent Desislava Mincheva providing hands-on training in translating complex European policies into accessible journalism. Her workshop included practical guidance on critically analyzing press releases, an essential skill for maintaining editorial independence when covering institutional communications.

The comprehensive training program, which began on Monday, will continue until October 29, providing participants with nearly two weeks of professional development at a time when accurate reporting on European affairs faces mounting challenges across the continent.

This initiative comes as Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007, continues to integrate into European structures while navigating complex regional dynamics. The country’s media landscape has undergone significant transformation in recent years, with concerns about media concentration and independence remaining at the forefront of public discourse.

Programs like this BTA-European Parliament collaboration aim to strengthen the next generation of Bulgarian journalists at a critical moment when credible reporting on European affairs faces challenges from both disinformation campaigns and declining public engagement with EU institutions.