Renne Traicova
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How mushroom sites and disinformation stand in the way of combating corruption in Bulgaria
How does the media influence public discourse on corruption and anti-corruption? And how can we ensure information integrity in an age of disinformation, propaganda, fake news and hybrid attacks? To answer those questions in the context of Bulgaria, Sensika, a global media monitoring and analytics firm, processed more than 44 million articles in Bulgarian online media outlets and more than 20 million Facebook posts and comments on corruption and anti-corruption topics between January 2023 and February 2024. The research report – an update of similar research in 2021–2022 – supports the Basel Institute's technical assistance programme with the Bulgarian Government and was funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC and the United States Agency for International Development USAID . This comprehensive examination offered us valuable perspectives on the media’s role in shaping public opinion on governance and integrity. The findings underpin the importance of smart government communication and the informed and critical consumption of information by citizens. The research methodology employed AI technologies and was bolstered by human interventions for accurate trend spotting, sentiment analysis and deep-dive content monitoring. A short summary is below. Corruption is headline news; integrity less so Between 2023 and early 2024, both corruption and anti-corruption narratives received sustained attention and coverage. This contrasts with 2021–2022, when corruption-related narratives attracted more media attention than news on anti-corruption efforts. Interesting findings include: Comments on Facebook often outnumbered original posts. Even allowing for the activities of trolls and bots, this suggests a reactive audience keen to discuss these issues. Corruption-related keywords saw sustained interest in terms of both volume and reach, a finding consistent with our recent public opinion research indicating corruption as one of citizens’ top three concerns. Integrity-related keywords had a more limited reach, suggesting that users are more interested in narratives exposing wrongdoing than in those highlighting virtue. Disinformation via mushroom sites and social media In the context of anti-corruption as well as in general, disinformation and fake news have far-reaching negative implications: distorted information space, manipulated public opinion, amplified divisions and polarised societies. This makes the job of anti-corruption practitioners and government officials extremely challenging, as they try to devise smart communication strategies to counter these trends and promote informational integrity on corruption and anti-corruption topics. As the research points out, hybrid attacks flood the public discourse with large volumes of manipulative content.Disinformation is spread by seeding superficial news stories and narratives in mushroom websites and amplifying them on social media via armies of trolls and bots. Mushroom websites are impostor online media outlets, designed to provide anonymity and plausible deniability for their creators. They are created in bulk by malicious actors to seed disinformation, propaganda and fake news. During disinformation campaigns, they “pop up, multiply and grow” in a coordinated manner. Afterwards they either disappear or become inactive until the next campaign. Social media platforms amplify what mushroom sites publish. Trolls and bots, using fake user profiles, share disinformation, propaganda and fake news across different social networks to artificially boost engagement metrics. This way they trick the platforms’ algorithms and make the content look organically viral . As a result, many social media users suffer increased cognitive vulnerability. The increased consumption of news through social media and mobile devices has led to more unconscious behaviour, meaning more impulsive reactions to media content that reinforces their existing beliefs. Often users distribute disinformation and fake news without reading beyond the headlines or checking the source. What does this look like in Bulgaria? Bulgaria is no stranger to malign forces seeking to disrupt the integrity of the public information space for private gain. It is also no stranger to destructive smear campaigns that aim to slander, defame and silence reformers. Last year, for example, a well-orchestrated malicious campaign was executed through hundreds of mushroom sites against then Minister of Justice Krum Zarkov, an outspoken voice for anti-corruption legislative reforms. The smear campaign falsely accused Minister Zarkov of strangling cats and eventually necessitated a public rebuttal. This year’s research also observed apparently coordinated disinformation campaigns in both online media outlets and Facebook. Mushroom websites published sensationalist content about notable individuals. Suspicious Facebook users, potentially trolls, posted similar or identical comments under different posts in a limited time frame. It is not unlikely that this amplification of sensationalist narratives influenced public perception and discussion around corruption- and anti-corruption issues. Corruption and sensationalism Coverage of corruption-related narratives in Bulgarian online and social media illustrates the significance of corruption as a critical issue, with continued exposure of scandals across various domains. These narratives reveal systemic concerns within the governmental, judiciary and law enforcement sectors. They not only achieved impressive media coverage volume but also reached extensive audiences, underscoring the gravity of corruption as a key societal issue – a point confirmed by our public opinion research. Legitimate media, mushroom websites and media aggregators play distinct roles in disseminating corruption-related content: Social media platforms drive traffic to mushroom websites and media aggregators. In Bulgaria, Facebook plays an outsized role in referring users to mushroom sites. Legitimate media provide a steady stream of articles, often using indirect language to discuss corrupt practices. Mushroom websites amplify particular corruption-related events and disseminated biased or selective news with often sensationalist undertones. Aggregators broaden the content’s reach. The good news: anti-corruption discourse is also strong Our research showed the steady presence of anti-corruption keywords in legitimate online media, with peaks around specific events like new legislative measures, government actions or high-profile corruption cases. Constitutional anti-corruption reforms and the enactment of a newAnti-Corruption Law in 2023 saw significant media coverage. The dismissal of Chief Prosecutor Ivan Geshev and the introduction of a legal mechanism for investigation and criminal liability of the position of Chief Prosecutor incited widespread media debate on the need for increased governance accountability and transparency. The topic was actively discussed on Facebook, amplifying public engagement on issues of governance and justice. Bulgaria’s aspirations to join the OECD were another subject of media attention, signifying a dedication to bolstering good governance frameworks in line with international standards. This was also exemplified by coverage of the implementation of the Whistleblower Protection Act. Learn more Download Corruption and anti-corruption narratives in Bulgarian media: Media monitoring and analysis report 2024
What do Bulgarian citizens think about corruption, integrity and anti-corruption efforts?
Bulgarian citizens need no reminding that corruption causes immense social harm, including limiting a country's ability to fight poverty, negatively affecting economic development, rupturing social values and eroding the fundamental principles of democracy and good governance. But what do they really think about corruption in their country and the Government’s anti-corruption efforts? It is vital to gather evidence on this in order to better shape government anti-corruption policies and communications going forward. As part of wider efforts to support the Government of Bulgaria’s anti-corruption measures, the Basel Institute carried out a public perception survey together with Global Metrics. The survey reveals that although corruption remains a top public concern in the country, citizens: are mostly unaware of any government anti-corruption reform initiatives; are not likely to report corrupt behaviour; and are increasingly losing trust in the democratic system of governance. These negative trends, together with the frequent government changes and the critically low voter turnout in the June 2024 parliamentary elections 34 percent , make it imperative for the Bulgarian authorities to institute urgent anti-corruption and integrity reforms and to better communicate to citizens how they are working to address corruption in the country. Such communication is critical for building and sustaining trust in public institutions and the democratic process in the country, for demonstrating that reform can actually be achieved in this area and for actively engaging citizens in the fight against corruption. Corruption remains a primary concern Three years after tens of thousands of dissatisfied citizens flocked to the streets of Bulgarian cities to demand anti-corruption reforms, Bulgaria heads to its seventh parliamentary election on 27 October 2024. Corruption remains a top concern for Bulgarian citizens, according to the 2024 report on “Public attitudes towards corruption in Bulgaria and the anti-corruption actions of the Bulgarian Government”. The 2024 survey found that corruption is among the top three most important problems facing Bulgaria for more than 70 percent of Bulgarian citizens. A quarter of respondents ranked it first. Low incomes and political and state governance were among the other most pressing problems identified. Bulgarian citizens also overwhelmingly believe that corruption is widespread among high-ranking public officials, with almost 72 percent of the respondents stating that either most or almost all high-ranking public officials in Bulgaria are involved in corruption. The importance of instituting and communicating reforms The majority of Bulgarian citizens still see anti-corruption reforms as vitally important and expect the Bulgarian Government to deliver on an anti-corruption agenda. So, it is essential for the authorities to implement urgent reforms to combat corruption and strengthen integrity. The Government also needs to adequately communicate these reforms to citizens in order to galvanise their support, engage them in the reform agenda, and build and retain their trust. The survey data also suggests that respondents were more likely to be willing to report corrupt behaviour if they were exposed to media reports about effective government actions against corruption. And yet, the 2024 findings show that more than half of the respondents could not name a single anti-corruption effort of the Bulgarian Government. Convincing a majority of the population that change is possible needs constant and evidence-based communication, awareness raising and information campaigns. Reforms despite political instability Despite going through a period of extreme political instability and six snap elections in the last two and half years, Bulgaria has made progress in strengthening capacity to tackle corruption, particularly in the area of legislative reforms and galvanising bottom-up support for integrity reforms from the business sector. These improvements demonstrate that it is possible for political rivals to coalesce around common anti-corruption and integrity policy priorities. The European Commission decisions to end the cooperation and verification mechanism October 2023 and to authorise Bulgaria’s partial entry into the Schengen area March 2024 also recognised that some progress has been made on rule of law and anti-corruption reforms. If continued reform efforts are combined with thorough citizen engagement, there is hope that Bulgaria’s anti-corruption and integrity progress may also be reflected in future perception surveys, in day-to-day business and politics and, most importantly, in an improvement in the daily lives of Bulgaria’s citizens. Learn more The Basel Institute has provided technical support on integrity issues to the Government of Bulgaria since 2022. Through our current programme this support has included, among other topics, the development of the Government’s capacity to communicate on corruption issues through the design and launch of a Public Integrity Campaign based on data from public opinion surveys, media sentiment analysis and focus group research conducted in partnership with the Institute. The programme is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC and USAID.