Disinformation on Bulgaria and Romania’s Schengen accession fuels Euroskepticism

Abstract Romania and Bulgaria’s accession to the Schengen Area has been the subject of international controversy and public debate in recent years. In this context, disinformation narratives about the consequences of their integration into the Schengen Area have become increasingly prominent. This paper investigates the impact of such narratives on public attitudes toward the European Union (EU). Using an experimental design (N = 895 in Romania, N = 912 in Bulgaria), we examine how exposure to Schengen-related disinformation shapes Euroskeptic sentiment in both countries. Findings show that disinformation is associated with increased Euroskeptic attitudes. In Romania, the effect is consistent across all types of media environments (mainstream, alternative, and social), suggesting broad susceptibility regardless of source. In Bulgaria, the effect is significant only when the disinformation content originates from mainstream media, with no significant changes resulting from exposure via alternative or social media. These effects persist across ideological orientations and are not moderated by how important individuals perceive the Schengen issue to be, indicating that effects of disinformation operate rather independently. Overall, the findings underscore the need to consider both the content and the media environment in which disinformation circulates when assessing its influence on public opinion in Eastern European contexts.