Prime Minister: Council for Electronic Media should try to tackle disinformation, hybrid attacks, breach of ethical rules

“It is high time the Council for Electronic Media (CEM) tried to see what can be done to tackle the problems with disinformation, hybrid attacks, and non-observation of ethical rules, instead of explaining what it cannot do,“ Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov said at a news briefing at the Council of Ministers on August 8 after a question about a position of the media regulator, expressed earlier on August 8 in reaction to a statement Denkov made yesterday, August 7.

"In the past two months, many of the problems we encountered were the result of the 'eyes wide shut' phenomenon," Denkov also said at the briefing. He advised CEM to initiate a discussion on the topics of disinformation, hybrid attacks, and observation of ethical rules with the participation of journalists and university lecturers. "There are things they can do. The call on them is to see what they can do, and not what they cannot do," he added.

Denkov recommended that the CEM initiate a discussion on the topics of disinformation, hybrid attacks and compliance with ethical rules, to which journalists and university lecturerers should be invited.

"There are things they can do. The appeal to them is to look at what they can do, not what they cannot do," Denkov said.

During the government's bi-monthly report, given in the form of an online interview on Monday, August 7, Prime Minister. Nikolai Denkov, criticised the work of CEM and said the regulator was "clearly not doing its job", allowing cases of misinformation in the country.

In reaction, CEM said in a position on August 8 that Denkov's statement shows ignorance of CEM's powers as defined in the Radio and Television Act and ignorance regarding the entities on whose activities CEM is competent.

Source: BTA