Information hero

Assen Yordanov

The news website that Assen Yordanov founded with Atanas Chobanov in October 2010 quickly made a name for itself with exclusives about corruption, flaws in the judicial system and collusion between politicians and organized crime in Bulgaria. A few months later, it became the official WikiLeaks partner for the publication of leaked US diplomatic cables about Bulgaria and its Balkan neighbours. In the summer of 2011, Yordanov began organizing courses for local journalists on protecting communications against the phone tapping and hacking that is often practiced by the Bulgarian authorities. The site survives thanks to the enthusiasm of its journalists and to fundraising initiatives. Advertisers obviously steer clear of it because they fear upsetting the powerful people targeted by its investigative reporting.