Conference on debunking fake news in Sofia sparks… fake news

The Union of Bulgarian Journalists (SBJ) is strongly denying having invited “Belarusian propagandists to be trained in combating fake news with EU funds”, as the Belarusian Association of Journalists has reported.

Snejana Todorova, head of SBJ, told EUalive she was taken by surprise when she was faced with furious accusations by a Belarussian democratic-minded media organisation of having invited “state-run media employees” at a “training” how to combat fake news.

The Belarusian Association of Journalists is the largest democratic non-governmental association of Belarusian media representatives.

In fact, the event, to be held in Sofia on 26 January, is not training, but a one-hour discussion “Artificial intelligence and fake news: which is the workable solution”. The discussion is to be held in the premises of SBJ and is organised by EUalive as part of the project AI4Debunk, a Horizon Europe-funded project that aims to develop user-friendly tool for citizens to help them navigate the digital media landscape and detect misinformation and fake news. The project being at the middle of its 4-year period, the discussion is expected to obtain feedback from users what is your experience with coming across fake news, and what would be their preferred tools to verify news.

Todorova is not a speaker at the event, her role being of providing the meeting room for a fee, and publishing the announcement on the SBJ website.

“The publications I saw about SBJ inviting Belarusian propagandists are fake news”, Todorova told journalists. She said that she had been approached by several Bulgarian media outlets interested in the story, after they came across the publications by the Belarusian opposition media.

The furious reaction of Belarusian media follows a publication by Minsk Novosti (also known as Minsk News), the state-owned propaganda outlet, which has completely distorted the aim of the event in Sofia, and apparently invented the narrative that Todorova, or SBJ, invited “state-run media employees”.

The Minsk Novosti publication has apparently been taken at face value by the Belarusian Association of Journalists, who did not ask for EUalive or AI4Debunk to comment previous to their publication.

Todorova is accused by the Belarusian Association of Journalists of being pro-Russia, and the Union of Bulgarian Journalists is also accused of continuing to cooperate with Belarusian and Russian official media.

Todorova says that SBJ has signed cooperation agreements with 80 countries including Russia and Belarus, but denies that cooperation is continuing after the 2022 Russian full-size invasion of Ukraine.

She doesn’t deny personal sympathies with Russia. Todorova is getting re-elected as head of SBJ, because this oldest Bulgarian journalistic organisation widely shares her views.

One of the aims of AI4Debunk is to analyse the views of different target groups, this is precisely why SBJ was chosen as a venue for the discussion.

The event will proceed as planned, undeterred by the surrounding media storm. The only potential challenge is that the modest meeting room may prove too small to accommodate all those who wish to attend.

Caption: The governing body of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists – the Management Board of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists – consists of 15 people: a chairman and 14 members. Snejana Todorova is at the centre, dress in black. [SBJ website]