Bulgarians Trust Public Media Most During Elections, Survey Finds

Jerusalem, 14 May, 2026 (TPS-IL) -- Sofia (BTA) – The results of the Council for Electronic Media’s (CEM) specialized monitoring review of the campaign for the parliamentary elections on April 19, as well as the survey titled Media Attitudes of the Audience during the Parliamentary Election Campaign, conducted by the Myara polling agency, were presented on Thursday at the Council for Electronic Media building.

CEM conducted the monitoring review of election coverage across 13 linear services operated by public broadcasters Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), 15 linear services of commercial media providers, 14 non-linear services and one video-sharing platform, between March 20 and April 19.

Speaking to CEM members, Zornitsa Gyurova, head of the Monitoring and Analysis Directorate, said that the campaign only gained greater intensity in the final week before the vote. According to her, once again there was a lack of leadership debates among the major political forces.

According to the report, following the constitutional amendments that allow the National Assembly to function during the pre-election period, the parliamentary rostrum was used for pre-election rhetoric. Thus, BNR’s Horizont Programme and BNT 1, which broadcast plenary sessions live, became a platform for political campaigning, outside the editorial control of public media.

Among the main themes of the campaign were criticism of the oligarchic model of governance, corruption, the lack of a fair justice system, and concerns about vote-buying.

The report also notes the media’s efforts to attract a young audience through special formats and technological solutions, including the use of artificial intelligence, robots, 3D visualizations, and the involvement of influencers.

During the April 19 elections, CEM filed complaints with the Central Election Commission more than 26 times. The most frequently identified violation was the announcement of election results before 8:00 p.m. on election day.

The results of a nationally representative survey conducted by the Myara polling agency, commissioned by CEM and conducted between April 4 and 13 among 1,002 adult Bulgarians, were presented at the CEM sitting. The data shows that public media enjoy the highest level of trust, with over half of those surveyed having a positive attitude toward BNT, and BNR also receiving high ratings. Television remains the primary source of information for nearly 59% of citizens, followed by social media 37% and radio 26%.

The survey also shows that young people under 30 prefer websites and social media, while traditional media dominate among older adults. About half of those surveyed stated that they follow opinion polls during the campaign, which, according to the study’s authors, underscores the importance of the work of polling agencies as a public service. According to the pollsters, the data confirms the key role of public media in enabling informed choices and maintaining trust in the media environment in Bulgaria.