Hate speech has an enduring presence in the Bulgarian public and media environment. In 2023, 43 % of adult citizens surveyed in a nationally representative survey of public opinion said, that in the previous 12 months they had encountered in public space statements expressing disapproval, hatred or aggression towards members of ethnic, religious or sexual minorities. This represents a decline from 2018, when 51% of respondents indicated they had encountered such statements, and from 2016, when this proportion was 58%. However, it is comparable to the levels of 46-47% recorded in 2013 and 2014.
The study also singled out the Roma and LGBTI communities are the most frequent targets of hate speech, with fewer people targeted by hate speech against Roma in 2023 compared to previous years (64% in 2023 vs. 81% in 2018 and 92% in 2016), while the intensity with which respondents have heard hostile language towards LGBTI people has increased sharply from 21% in 2016 to 42% in 2018 and 63% in 2023. Within the past decade, there has been a significant decrease in hostile statements against members of the Turkish community – from 58% in 2013 to 9% in 2023.
The aim of the study, which has been conducted periodically since 2013 by the Open Society Institute – Sofia, is to assess the perceptions of different social groups towards hate speech and to establish the extent of its spread and use in Bulgaria. In the study ‘encountering hate speech’ refers to the frequency with which respondents report that statements expressing disapproval, hatred or aggression towards various minority groups have reached them through various communication channels in public space.
There has been a continuing shift in the main sources of hate speech from traditional to digital media. Social media and websites (cited by 67% of respondents) have overtaken television (cited by 35% of respondents) as the main channels for encountering hate speech. Politicians and journalists are less likely to be cited as sources of hate speech compared to previous years, which is likely due to the change in how information is consumed in the age of social media. A formation of hybrid public-private spaces on social media transforms most participants in public deliberations from pure consumers of information into its producers, disseminators, and commentators. In 2023, respondents most often heard hostile statements against various minority groups from relatives and friends.
Knowledge of hate speech laws remains limited, especially among Roma and less educated groups. Young people (18-29 years) report lower exposure to hate speech compared to 2018, but also have lower awareness of relevant laws.
At least at the declarative level, there is strong public disapproval of the use of hate speech (85%), as well as substantial public support for state measures to protect minority groups targeted by hate speech (54%). Declared support for state intervention and limiting public funding for political parties and media that disseminate hate speech is also high, at round and above 64%.
Despite the high public disapproval of hate speech, however, the willingness to report incidents of prejudice and hatred is low even in cases where they are serious enough to constitute a possible crime under the Criminal Code.
According the authors of the Open Society Institute’s report “the increase in hate speech targeting LGBTI people in Bulgaria since 2018 is a worrying trend that has the potential to grow into a serious challenge to the protection of human rights and other vulnerable groups in our society”. According to their assessment, “hate speech has recently begun to take the form of resurgent systems of hate-based views. A language of hate in the proper sense of the term ‘language’ is taking shape.” Against this backdrop, “the administration of justice cannot be regarded as the primary or even a sufficiently effective instrument for countering hate speech and ideologies based on hatred and the denial of fundamental human rights. Moreover, as these ideologies can take the form of mass movements, change the course of policies and create laws.”
According to the report, the emergence of social media as a major channel for the spread of hate speech necessitates the development of new approaches to curb it, many of which would require international cooperation at least within the EU.
“Education offers unparalleled opportunities to promote a culture of tolerance and inclusion by challenging the stereotypes and prejudices that underpin hate speech. By fostering an environment of openness and respect, education can diminish the social acceptability of hate speech, but it can also do the opposite by endorsing values and ideologies that are difficult to reconcile with the idea of universal human rights. In the coming years, the system of secondary education may become an arena for a clash of divergent ideas and influences, the outcome of which will largely determine the prevalence and forms that hostility, stereotypes and hate speech take, but also the future of democracy in Bulgaria”, the authors of the report note.
Full text of the report Public attitudes towards hate speech in Bulgaria in 2023 (in Bulgarian)
The quoted data are from a nationally representative public opinion survey conducted among the adult Bulgarian population in the period 9-17 July 2023 using a face-to-face direct standardized interview method. Respondents were selected by two-stage stratified sampling by region and type of locality with quotas for gender and age. 1003 effective interviews were conducted. The maximum stochastic error at the 95% confidence level at a share of 50% is ±3.1%.
The study was conducted in the field by Trend Agency on behalf of the Open Society Institute -Sofia with the support of the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria. Funding for the Active Citizens Fund is provided by Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein under the EEA Financial Mechanism 2014-2021.The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Active Citizens Fund Operator or the EEA Financial Mechanism.
Data from previous studies using similar methodology conducted and/or comissioned by the Open Society Institute – Sofia were also used .
