Monthly Monitoring Highlights:  a range of harmful narratives, including those targeting journalists

Throughout March, the RDN monitoring team identified a range of harmful narratives, including those targeting journalists, gender-based harassment, as well as misogynistic, homophobic, transphobic, and Islamophobic discourse. Across the region, these patterns were further reinforced by sensationalist and unethical media reporting, contributing to a hostile environment for journalists, activists, and marginalised groups, and undermining democratic dialogue and accountability.

Violence against journalists in Kosovo

Rapper Mossi (Gramos Krasniqi), along with several other individuals, physically assaulted journalist Burim Pacolli. The attack occurred after Pacolli’s analysis and music reviews of the “five strongest freestyles of Meriton Mjekiqi.” In his review, Pacolli included two diss tracks by rapper Buta (Betim Januzi) directed at Mossi. 

Pacolli was attacked near the Interex roundabout in Pristina while carrying out personal banking tasks, by Mossi and two other individuals. After the assault, Mossi fled but continued to issue threats against Pacolli, which were repeatedly reported by the media. 

The police later arrested Mossi and two other individuals, and they were placed in pre-trial detention for one month. In the days leading up to the arrests, media outlets had continuously reported on the threatening messages sent to Pacolli. 

Social media users largely criticized Mossi. The Association of Journalists of Kosovo also reacted, stating: “Freedom of expression, criticism, and reporting is guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of Kosovo, and no journalist can become a victim of attacks for exercising this right.” 

Freedom of opinion and expression is guaranteed by law, but many do not accept criticism and do not know how to deal with critical thinking. As a result, those who express criticism often face either physical confrontation or are subjected to hate speech. Nevertheless, the attack against any individual is unlawful and unjustified – in a democratic context, everyone has the right to freely express their opinion without causing direct harm towards others, without having the fear of any violent repercussion. 

Misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia in Serbia

On International Women’s Day, a protest march was organised in central Belgrade. It was an inclusive feminist gathering, with representations of different ethnicities, sexualities, and abilities. The central demand of the protest was early parliamentary elections. Other demands included equal participation by women in political life and solidarity in the fight against fascism. 

Due to the highly political nature of the demands, the openly and visibly queer speaker, and queer and Palestine flags, the protest caught the attention of pro-regime tabloids and the Instagram page beogradinfo.rs. Tabloids Informer and Novosti, and beogradinfo.rs are infamous for targeting political and ideological opponents. These tabloids sought to undermine the protest by framing its organisers, who support the student-led movement, as propagandists. Meanwhile, beogradinfo.rs had been posting videos of an openly queer speaker from the protest, targeting them for their gender and sexuality. These posts provoked a wave of misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic comments all over social media. Moreover, the speaker was targeted for their accent, with xenophobic comments questioning their citizenship. 

Such targeting of individuals based on their sexual orientation and other identity characteristics, contributes to the rise of public hate speech and deepens discrimination against both LGBTQI+ people and other marginalised groups who are already exposed to continuous targeting by the media. People should be allowed the freedom to be themselves without worrying whether their identity poses a risk to their safety. The right to protest is a democratic right which must not be undermined through identity-based attacks or by spreading hate online.

Sensationalism and sexism in North Macedonia

A horrific incident shook Skopje when a mother and her 10-year-old daughter died after falling from a residential building. Aleksandar Stojanoski, brother of the mother and uncle of the child, revealed on social media that his sister and her daughter had endured years of severe domestic abuse at the hands of the girl’s father. “Today a murder happened,” he wrote, emphasising that the deaths were the tragic result of prolonged violence.

This case is a clear instance of femicide, where the victimised mother took her own life alongside her daughter after enduring relentless abuse. However, some media reports misrepresented the mother as the “killer,” ignoring her position as a victim of systemic violence. They included headlines such as “A mother killed her own 10-year-old daughter in Skopje’s Karpoš, jumping from a building while holding the child in her arms”. Rather than reporting on the tragedy with the facts and causes, emphasising the effects of gender-based violence, the media chose to sensationalise the incident and place blame on the mother, painting her as a child killer.

The tragedy highlights deep structural problems in North Macedonia where unsanctioned domestic violence persists, institutions often fail to intervene, and protective mechanisms for women and children remain weak or unrecognized. The combination of systemic inaction and irresponsible media coverage underscores the urgent need for stronger laws, ethical journalism, and comprehensive support systems to prevent future tragedies. Furthermore, the media should pay attention to such cases not as an opportunity to place blame and sensationalise but rather to expose the reality that many victims of domestic abuse face,including the lack of trust in institutions to react and the impact that this can have on them and their life.

Escalating pressure on journalists in Albania

This month, two closely connected incidents involving Prime Minister Edi Rama highlighted a pattern of escalating hostility toward the media in Albania. During a meeting with the Socialist Party parliamentary group on 9 March, Rama used derogatory and inflammatory language to describe media coverage of corruption allegations involving Belinda Balluku. He referred to reporting as “dog food in 700 media pots,” framed it as part of a “political and media trial,” and described the media as a “paramilitary force for public destruction.” These statements, widely disseminated across media and social platforms, contributed to a narrative portraying journalists as coordinated and hostile actors rather than serving their watchdog role.

Just days later, on 13 March, this rhetoric translated into confrontation during a press conference, when journalist Ambrozia Meta from Syri TV questioned the Prime Minister on the same issue. Instead of addressing the question, Rama responded with personal attacks, accused the media outlet of misconduct without evidence, and dismissed the legitimacy of the inquiry. The situation escalated further when Meta was ordered to leave the press conference and was reportedly permanently excluded from future briefings. Journalist Isa Myzyraj, who supported his colleague, was also insulted and expelled.

These incidents demonstrate how discourse against journalists and media can move from verbal delegitimisation to concrete restrictions on journalistic access. The use of derogatory language, public accusations, and exclusionary practices creates a hostile environment that discourages critical reporting and undermines the role of the media in holding power to account. When press conferences are used to attack and silence journalists, their democratic function is fundamentally weakened.

The reactions from journalist associations and international organisations underline the seriousness of these developments, warning that such practices risk normalising pressure, intimidation, and unequal access to public information. In a polarised media landscape, sustained attacks on journalists not only erode trust in media institutions but also weaken democratic oversight, as scrutiny of those in power becomes increasingly constrained.

Gender-based harassment and threats against journalist and activist in Montenegro

Cardiologist Vladimir Peruničić was arrested in Montenegro after sending inappropriate and sexually explicit messages to RTV Podgorica journalist Magdalena Čelanović on Instagram. What began as a professional contact escalated into harassment, including explicit remarks and requests to send intimate images. The journalist reported the messages to the police, leading to his detention and the initiation of legal proceedings. Notably, this was not an isolated incident, as Peruničić had previously sent similar messages to the same journalist, raising concerns about repeated offenses and the effectiveness of institutional responses.

In a separate case, activist Ida Marković was targeted with serious threats via social media, including threats of abduction, physical violence, and insults rooted in transphobia and misogyny. Civil society organisation Queer Montenegro called for an urgent institutional response, emphasising that such threats should be treated as potential hate-motivated violence. The organisation also warned that this was not the first time Marković had been targeted, highlighting a broader pattern of continuous harassment faced by trans women in Montenegro.

These cases illustrate how online spaces are frequently used to target women and marginalised people with harassment, abuse, and threats that can have serious offline consequences. The combination of repeated offences, gender-based targeting, and threats of violence contributes to a climate of fear and insecurity, particularly for those already exposed to multiple forms of discrimination.

While media reporting in these cases was largely responsible and avoided sensationalism, the incidents underscore the need for stronger and more consistent institutional responses. Ensuring accountability for perpetrators and recognising the misogynistic dimensions of such attacks is essential for protecting journalists, activists, and other public voices, and for safeguarding their right to participate freely and safely in public life.

Anti-Muslim rhetoric in Bosnia and Herzegovina

A controversial television report aired by RTV Herceg-Bosna, a broadcaster closely aligned with the Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina, framed the ongoing wars and crisis in Southwestern Asia through the lens of domestic ethno-political divisions in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The report focused on the attacks by the United States and Israel on Iran, warning that global conflicts were “spilling over” into the country and creating new societal divisions. It further alleged long-standing ties between “Bosniak politics and Iran” and argued that Bosnia and Herzegovina must align itself firmly with the West againsttheocratic regimes.

The framing of the report is particularly problematic as it symbolically constructs Sarajevo and Bosnia and Herzegovina as a potential security threat to Europe. Through selective narratives and generalisations, it presents complex political and social dynamics in simplified and polarising terms. This approach is reinforced by the use of archival footage from pro-Gaza protests in Sarajevo, which visually associates the local population with global conflicts, despite lacking clear contextual relevance.

Additionally, the report falls short of basic journalistic standards by relying on a very limitedrange of sources, including only two interviewees, one of whom is not a subject-matter expert. This narrow selection of voices contributes to a one-sided narrative and amplifies political messaging rather than providing balanced or evidence-based reporting.

Most concerningly, the report includes openly offensive and dehumanising language, referring to Muslims in Bosnia and Herzegovina as “the viper in the heart of Europe” and collectively associating them with extremism. Such rhetoric fuels discrimination and deepens existing ethnic and religious divisions, undermining social cohesion and responsible public discourse. Media coverage that reinforces harmful stereotypes and frames entire communities as threats poses a serious risk to democratic dialogue.