Journalists, politicians, public figures, representatives of European and local institutions, NGOs, IT companies and experts are taking part in an international conference, taking place at the National Palace of Culture in Sofia, called “Fake news of true trolls”.

The conference is focusing on issues like misinformation, fake news and international security, the challenges facing journalists and the role of social media users in spreading false and misleading information.

Vice President Iliyana Yotova has quoted a study conducted in 2018, according to which some 1.8 million people in Bulgaria come across fake news on a daily basis, while 80% of Europeans have seen misleading information. Minister Liliana Pavlova, responsible for Presidency of Council of EU pointed out that 18 countries in the world, including Bulgaria, experienced distorted election results because of the effect of fake news. She shares the opinion that the European elections will be the first serious test of how anti-fake news measures are being implemented.