We are proud to announce the launch of RESPONSES – Responses to online hate speech against LGBTIQ+ people in Bulgaria, a two-year project funded by the European Union through the CERV-2024-CHAR-LITI programme. Coordinated by GLAS Foundation, the project brings together key national partners: Bilitis Resource Center Foundation (Bilitis), Association of European Journalists – Bulgaria (AEJ-Bulgaria) and Bulgarian Society for Psychoanalysis and Group Analysis (BOPGA)
Running from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2027, RESPONSES aims to counter the growing problem of hate speech and disinformation targeting LGBTIQ+ people in Bulgaria by building new tools, networks, and knowledge to confront it effectively.
Planned activities include:
- In-depth research and mapping of hate speech narratives and disinformation trends, as well as community perceptions of hate speech.
- A large-scale national awareness campaign, including outdoor and online visibility, and the development of a new digital guide Browsing Through Hate, offering practical guidance on how to respond to and navigate online hostility.
- Investigative journalism work, including fact-checking major cases and publishing original reports on disinformation and hate speech related to LGBTIQ+ people.
- Specialized media trainings to build the capacity of journalists and editors on inclusive and ethical reporting.
- Community resilience programming, such as digital safety workshops, mental health support, and sessions on managing online attacks.
- Evaluation and knowledge-sharing to ensure that the project’s outcomes have a lasting impact.
In numbers, we will:
- Train 20 journalists on reporting LGBTIQ+ hate speech;
- Conduct 4 investigative journalistic reports;
- Launch fact-checks on at least 6 prominent hate speech cases;
- Train 200 LGBTIQ+ people on digital resilience and wellbeing;
- Provide mental health support to at least 70 individuals;
- Reach 20,000 community members with resources;
- Launch a national awareness campaign reaching over 200,000 people.
Through this collaborative and multidisciplinary approach, RESPONSES will strengthen the LGBTIQ+ community’s responses to hate speech, improve media practices, and equip allies with better tools to counter online hate.
Stay tuned for updates and ways to get involved.
🇪🇺 Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or [name of the granting authority]. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
