The idea of “propaganda” has taken prominence in Bulgaria in less than a decade. It is now frequently employed to explain political views of the public and attribute causes to the actions or inaction of various constituencies. Propaganda has both become the subject of large-scale expert research and grown into a veritable moral panic for “the liberal milieu”. It joins a host of other associated catchphrases (“post-truth”, “fake news”, “disinformation”, “hybrid attack”) which gained currency across the West and further afield since the 2010s. Yet, the meanings and imaginaries invested in “propaganda”, and especially “Russian propaganda”, in the local Bulgarian context make it stand out in intensity and regional specifics, which makes it a useful tool for social analysis. “Propaganda” is invoked most recognisably by Bulgarians with higher degree of political mobilisation, strongly pro-Western attitudes, and self-proclaimed “democratic” or “liberal” political identity. Members of this liberal milieu tend to be outspoken about their views on current affairs, especially on social media. The group stands out with the vibrancy of in-group discourse circulation, a fact that both generates discursive diversity and tends to unify important aspects of the circulating discourse, making it truly shared. This paper studies the particular Bulgarian non-expert imaginaries regularly invested in the catchword “propaganda” by looking at its mobilisation on Facebook (still the most prominent platform in Bulgaria) by this group, in particular by what Venkov calls opinion celebrities of the Bulgarian liberal milieu.
Nikola Venkov’s interests are in advancing Laclau’s Discourse Theory, applying it to understand power and marginalisation, the mechanics of politics and coexistence in the city, and lately, new political forms and propaganda. Previous publications include Towards a Theory of Conspiracy Narratives (2017), Assembling the Post-Socialist Marketplace (2018) and Conviviality vs. Politics of Coexistence: Going Beyond the Global North (2019).