Modern electoral politics are fast-paced and ever-changing, leaving many voters winded and overwhelmed by the time election day rolls around. In Bulgaria, the Day of Reflection mandates a pause in all political campaigning on the day before the election. During this time, citizens are encouraged to reflect on the campaign and thoughtfully consider their responsibilities in shaping democracy. However, internet campaigns have begun seriously challenging electoral traditions, marking a concerning shift in Bulgarian political culture.

Bulgarian Elections Face The Digital Age

In 2024, Bulgaria's concurrent parliamentary and European election campaigns were heavily influenced by domestic controversies, overshadowing debates on issues such as anti-corruption efforts, the country’s position on the war in Ukraine, and deeper integration within the EU. The far-right Vazrazhdane party experienced a surge in support, while the socialist party suffered notable losses. Meanwhile, a series of corruption scandals deepened public frustration, which contributed to unprecedented levels of voter apathy and record-low turnout.

A significant issue confronting Bulgaria is its limited media literacy, leaving many people unable to discern fake news or evaluate the reliability of political content. This weakness becomes particularly problematic on social media, where platforms such as Facebook play a central role in shaping the country’s political advertising environment.

Political Misinformation Poses a Unique Threat

In order to gain further insights into social media’s role in Bulgarian elections, we spoke with Boyan Yotov, programming director for the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee (BHC), a Liberties member organisation. BHC was founded in 1992 with the goal of preserving and defending human rights, particularly for minority and marginalised groups. Their research for the Who Targets Me campaign explored the impact of microtargeting in political campaigns, and revealed clear departures from Bulgarian political norms, including the day of reflection.

Due to lagging media literacy, Facebook groups are known to gain large followings using disinformation campaigns. Exposure to these groups is at times involuntary, as Boyan revealed in our conversation. He explained how Facebook groups initially created to discuss community events, hobbies, or other casual topics often grow large audiences and then unexpectedly shift, becoming intensely political. Many of the group participants would have “joined for completely different reasons”, he says, “and they become [the] audience” for this political content.

Political content on Facebook focuses on hot-button issues which are further boosted by the algorithm, including pro-Russian messaging about the war in Ukraine. As Boyan put it, “pro-Kremlin propaganda works really well in Bulgaria”.

A Unique Regulatory Environment

One of Bulgaria’s unique political traditions threatened by the emergence of ill-regulated social media campaigns is the day of reflection. As Boyan told us, “during the last day of the elections, you are not allowed to campaign. We call it a day for reflection”. Such restrictions are meant to allow voters to reflect after the campaign and make their decision without further political messaging.

Notably, in their research for the Who Targets Me campaign, BHC found that political ad spending on Facebook did not reflect these rules. Boyan shared that “the very last day was the peak” in their chart for ad spending amounts on Facebook. This contradiction is not a result of blatant disregard for the rules, but rather a consequence of major regulatory gaps in Bulgarian law. Although traditional media like television, radio, and print media are not allowed to publish political ads on the day of reflection, social media is not addressed in these rules, giving campaigns free rein to advertise on Facebook and other popular sites.

Even official accounts belonging to major parties and candidates are not flagged as political advertisers and are thus free to promote their campaigns well into the final day before the election. If social media was included in the law as a regulated outlet, Boyan says, “it is clear that this would be a violation”.

Encouraging New Regulation: First Steps

Examples across the globe make it apparent that regulating advertising, microtargeting, and political messaging on social media is a complex task. However, major improvements can be made to Bulgarian electoral integrity with just a few uncomplicated additions to existing pieces of legislation. Two essential initial measures to effective regulation include the categorisation of social media platforms as ‘media outlets’ in existing laws, and the recognition of official parties’ and candidates’ social media accounts as political campaign advertising tools. Widening these definitions would significantly strengthen Bulgaria’s election integrity and campaign fairness. According to Boyan, “even if the definition is just a little bit wider, it could have a lot of effect”.