Myth of Baba Vanga: mystic's 'prophecies' fuel propaganda

Many of 20th century seer's predictions were never recorded, yet her name now bolsters conspiracy theories and geopolitical narratives

- By Eden Maclachlan SOFIA and Ashifa Kassam

Vanga in Rupite, Bulgaria

(FOXARTBOX/SHUTTERSTOCK)

In some corners of the internet, the Bulgarian mystic Baba Vanga has taken on mythical proportions. Social media and tabloids across the globe credit her with predicting the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.

Recently, some headlines went further, asking: "Did she foresee the Israel-Iran war, US interference, missiles and airspace shutdowns?" An earlier article mused on her "predictions for 2026", which purportedly included the start of world war three and humanity's first contact with aliens.

Such claims garner clicks, but a chorus of voices from Bulgaria and beyond has warned many of the prophecies attributed to Vanga were probably never said by her. Instead, they say, the so-called Nostradamus of the Balkans has become a potent avatar, used for everything from sensationalised clickbait to the pushing of pro-Russian narratives.

"It's absurd," said Ivan Dramov of the Bulgaria-based Baba Vanga Foundation as he listed false claims - amplified on TikTok, YouTube and publications that range from UK tabloids to Albanian state-run media - of Vanga's visions of nuclear catastrophe or world wars.

"Absolute lies have been told about this holy woman," said Dramov, whose organisation was launched by Vanga's followers and was chaired by Vanga herself in the years before her death. "Vanga dealt mainly with people's health problems, not with upcoming cataclysms in the world."