At the concluding event of DisInfoHack 2026, held at the GATE Institute of Sofia University on Monday, Prof. Georgi Valchev, the university’s rector, emphasized the necessity for young people to develop robust critical thinking skills. He stressed that these abilities are crucial for distinguishing authentic information from misleading or manipulative content in the modern era.
According to Valchev, initiatives such as DisInfoHack play a key role in narrowing the gap between verifiable facts and disinformation within today’s complex information ecosystem. The rector advised that the youth must prepare actively for the challenges of the modern world and assume a proactive role in fostering a sustainable information environment. He further noted that the challenge extends beyond outright falsehoods, as even seemingly reliable information can be repurposed or misused as disinformation.
DisInfoHack itself is structured as an initiative supporting the broader three-year project, Countering Disinformation Environment (Ecosystem) in Bulgaria (CoDE). This project employs a scientific methodology aimed at strengthening national information resilience. The effort is a collaboration involving Sofia University—through its GATE Institute, the European Studies Department of the Faculty of Philosophy, and the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration—and external partners.
These partners include the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the European Software Institute.
Topics: #university #rector #critical
