The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region.

This month’s Troll is JOQ Albania which recently reported on a non-consensual TikTok video taken in a club thereby breaching legal and professional practices.

JOQ Albania is a media outlet with a national reach and large audience. Recently, the outlet published an article with the title ‘Today’s youth gives a show at the pub/The girl between two boys, the one in front caresses her and the one behind sucks on her neck’. The article refers to a TikTok video which depicted a young woman who was clearly being sexually harassed and assaulted by two young men at a club. Furthermore, from the video it was obvious that the young woman was intoxicated which calls into question both her level of consciousness and awareness surrounding the filming and posting of the video. The actions towards the young woman including filming and uploading the video on TikTok without her consent is both extremely problematic and, effectively, a crime. JOQ’s editorial decision to report and publish the video on their platform disregards all professional and legal practices. Sharing  the video for the sake of making ‘news’ with a clickbait headline could be considered a crime in itself as it redistributes content that includes illegal activities.

Not only was this video both reported and commented on by JOQ Albania, it was furthermore, posted on their official Instagram site with the caption that read “give your comment on the trio”.  This resulted in a stream of comments underneath the video including a range of inappropriate jokes mocking the situation at hand. Captions such as these spur on sexist and misogynistic narratives amongst the public regarding serious acts of harassment. Such practices only uphold and encourage similar behaviours in the society with little to no repercussions.

Sexual harassment is a serious topic and one which should not go without accountability and consequence. The act of spreading such videos and captions further encourages behaviour with no responsibility or acknowledgement of the extremely problematic issue of harassment and non-consensual behaviour. Moreover, the topic and issue of consent is a serious one and one which should not go unnoticed. Filming and sharing content on social media without the consent and permission of those involved goes against community guidelines.

JOQ Albania, which has a wide and influential outreach and audience, holds both an ethical and legal obligation to report in a professional and correct manner. The reporting and sharing of this video in which the young woman is clearly intoxicated is extremely unprofessional and problematic. Furthermore, the sharing of the video on their Instagram page with a  caption that encourages harassment  promotes sexist and disrespectful comments to be made in reaction. Such sensationalistic reporting of something that could be covered as a serious social issue, enables sexism within society and disregards the role the media should have in society. JOQ Albania and other media outlets alike should adhered to the Code of Journalistic Ethics and report in a professional and appropriate manner.

Article 3 of the Code of Journalism Ethics, which refers to private life, clearly states:

“a) The press must respect the private life and the intimate sphere of the person. The observations and investigations on the private life are not allowed. It is not ethical to use telephoto lens in order to take photographs of the private life.
b) Its publication must be done only if it is in the public interest.
c) The photographing of the private environment must not be done without the person’s permission.”

In addition, article 14  recognises discrimination:

“The journalist must avoid, by all means, the discrimination based on race, sex, language, religion, political views, physical handicap, social or national origins.”

According to the media monitoring reports produced within the Reporting Diversity Network 2.0 project, three categories were identified as the main target of hate speech: ethnicity, gender identity and sexuality. These three categories which were the result of monitoring 465 single incidents across the region, make up more than fifty percent of cases (53,13%).

Within the Western Balkan region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), research has highlighted that racism, sexism, misogyny, nationalism and intolerance to different political, sexual or national identities are still present and still very strong.

Ethnicity is the most problematic category, according to the research findings. Instances of hate speech targeting ethnicity were often tied to the war in the 90s, incidents against migrants and refugees, and the current political situation.

The impact of the wars in the 1990s is most clearly seen in the cases detected in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cases shows that the target are the so-called constituent nations (Serbs, Bosniaks, Croats), but also the victims of the Srebrenica genocide and in some cases the Roma or Jewish communities as well. The denial of the Srebrenica genocide, for example, happens not just in Bosnia, but also in Serbia. The legacy of 1990’s wars, more generally, still humpers the inter-ethnic relations in the region.

The second most commonly targeted identity is gender. Sexism (mostly targeted towards women) and misogyny are the most common forms of hate speech. What we could see in different cases identified in the region, is that the failure to meet social expectations often serves as a basis for targeting, as some authors (Barratt) call it: femininity-as-fail.

One tendency that is potentially more dangerous than others that are related to gender-based hate speech is the narrative that is created around gender-based violence cases that receive more publicity. Namely, the regional analysis showed that gender-based violence is often accompanied by a narrative that justifies violence and generates hate speech.

The third most commonly targeted group in the region was the one of sexual minorities including predominantly the LGBTQ+ community. The main triggers of incidents which were detected in the period of research, are mostly connected to initiatives which are trying to improve the rights of LGBTIQ community in the region.

Based on RDN 2.0’s monitoring period, six national reports have been created focusing on specific instances and general trends and patterns of hate speech within the Western Balkan region. The data for all six reports were collected in the period of January 2021 – April 2022 whereby, different cases of hate speech were identified through monitoring of both traditional media as well as social media posts related to different identities and groups in the society (such as gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual minorities, and migrants/refugees).

The researchers in all six countries followed a standardised methodology to provide a harmonized overview of specific instances of hate speech either reported or distributed by the media. This provided both a quantitative approach in detecting the frequency of incidents as well as qualitative analysis including narrative analysis, sentiment analysis and visibility analysis to provide an in-depth understanding of the narratives in each of the Western Balkan countries.

Based on the collected data and research, it has become clear that there is a strong promotion of the division between ‘us’ and ‘them’ which has become a tool of maintaining the status quo or, in some cases, securing the political advantage of certain groups in the society. Hate speech has been used and abused as a political tool in public debates and the political arena.

To learn more about hate speech narratives in the region see country reports:

MEDIA MONITORING REPORT: A REGIONAL OVERVIEW

MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN ALBANIA  

MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN KOSOVO

MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN MONTENEGRO

MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN NORTH MACEDONIA

MEDIA MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN SERBIA

Throughout the month of June, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month there has been a rise in religious hate speech, sexism and ethnic discrimination in the Western Balkan region.

Sexism in Montenegro, Albania and Serbia

In Montenegro, the website  Aktuelno.me, has a section called ‘Beauties from Instagram’ in which readers select ‘the most beautiful women’ from Instagram. This month, Aktuelno.me published a post with the title ‘Beauty from Instagram – Sara Žižić’ and under the headline it was written ‘In the BEAUTY FROM INSTAGRAM we present the graceful, naturally beautiful, model SARA ŽIŽIĆ, who in addition to her beauty, is adorned by her traditional values’. This article went on to publish various photos of Žižić taken from her Instagram profile. Columns such as these are extremely misogynistic and sexist as women are depicted as objects and their respective values are measured by their beauty. In traditional and patriarchal societies, such as Montenegro, a woman’s value is measured by her beauty and appearance. The choice of language in the title and addition in the text that Žižić is adorned with respect to her ‘traditional values’ portrays the message that the ‘ideal woman’ should respect the traditional and patriarchal structures in society. Sections such as this one on a variety of similar webpages contribute to the consistent media representation of unrealistic beauty standards which mainly focus on the physical aspect of women’s characteristics.

JOQ Albania, in one of its posts which include  polls in the form of a question posed to its social media followers, predominantly on Instagram, recently asked an extremely problematic and sexist question to the public. The question was whether women prefer money or the person nowadays – ‘The person or money, who do women prefer nowadays’. Not only is this question suggestive of women forming relationships and interests in partners with the aim of finding money but it is furthermore extremely sexist and inaccurate.

One user commented in the comment section of the post ‘why not ask what men prefer today? Or are these questions always only for women? Have you noticed how many men go out and get married for stupid documents? A woman loves the person; she wants security. Do men know how to give this? Or just to take advantage of one woman and then go with another? So, when you ask, ask for both genders.’ This reaction highlights the level of sexism within the media and the focus on women and their choice in partnerships as one in which there are hidden interests at play.

The fact that a media outlet such as JOQ Albania, which has a large reach and followers, is posing such a question and is opening the debate surrounding such matters is problematic because it provides a platform to individuals to spread negative, hateful and sexist rhetoric. Posts and debates such as these only uphold and maintain misogynistic values in society.

In Serbia, following the Roe vs. Wade’s overturn by the Supreme Court in the United States, lawyer and member of the Serbian Progressive Party, Vladimir Đukanović, shared a number of sexist and hateful tweets aimed at individuals supportive of abortion rights. One of these tweets read ‘Bravo for the decision! Feminists and all other atheists, take your uterus and cry’. This was followed by another tweet which displayed a picture of three cows with the caption ‘Feminists in disbelief due to the ban on abortus in the USA’. He went on to quickly justify this tweet in another post reading ‘I did not compare women, but aggressive feminists who otherwise in their manner insult the views of us believers. Yes, I consider them the worst evil that advocate for the legalisation of murder. I tell you nicely, if you don’t like it, block me’.  

On top of this, he went on to express his anger towards what he claims to be ‘insane feminists’; ‘I enjoy monstrous aggression and insulting insane feminists. The US Supreme Court killed them in a sense and their attempt to legalise murder as something normal has collapsed. The ideology of death that these frustrated people advocate, thank God, have been defeated. Evil is on its knees’.

Vladimir Đukanović, has around 7,000 followers on Twitter and a large reach in the country. By sharing such sexist, hateful and misogynistic narratives towards women and those in support of abortion rights, these comments are further spread and upheld in society. The insulting language and use of degrading imagery including the comparison of women to that of cows, is highly demeaning and shameful. Politicians and those in power with large influence and authority hold a moral obligation towards their actions and should be held accountable for the spread of negative and highly sexist narratives in society. Although the debate surrounding abortion is a highly polarised one, the fact remains that everyone has the right of self-autonomy and freedom of choice.

Islamophobia in Kosovo

Lawyer Arianit Koci recently wrote a post on his FB profile spreading Islamophobic tropes. His post read: ‘I don’t know how many of you have noticed, but in our country the number of ladies and gentlemen who have started wearing the headscarf is growing rapidly, not to say in a worrying way.’ He also added ‘and it’s not a scarf like some of our grandmothers used to wear, this is typical scarf that expresses religious commitment. Does it reflect the Albanian identity and our European commitment? Not at all!’ He moreover, emphasised that wearing headscarves can only be prohibited by law and that it is something which does not lie in accordance with the culture of Albanians. Amongst other things, he wrote ‘The lack of communication with Europe, mainly due to the isolation unfairly imposed on us by the European Union, is one of the main reasons for the spread of religious ideology. Religious political ideology’.

Hundreds of individual users have reacted to his post, amongst which the largest number of them have reacted negatively towards Koci’s opinion, mostly through hateful language. Even Arianit Koci himself has informed the public that he has received numerous threats following this post, which he believes came from the Kosovo ‘Taliban’. This post was further picked up and published by the online newspaper ‘Insajderi’ which also published it on their respective Facebook profile.

In Kosovo, there has been a long debate over the years on whether or not headscarves should be allowed in schools and institutions in the country. Individuals wearing headscarves although small in number, are employed in a variety of institutions with no prohibition or restriction. Recently, young girls who are covered are seen more and more often on the streets on Pristina. Various sociologists associate this phenomenon mainly with poverty and the privileges that such persons receive from various humanitarian organizations from the Middle East, which have been present in Kosovo in large numbers since the end of the war in 1999. Part of the intellectual community and a large percentage of the urban society, believe that such religious identification does not belong with the Albanian culture and values whilst others see the interpretations of the Quran other than the traditional one, having a serious impact on the security situation in Kosovo and posing an obstacle to rapid European integration.

These narratives and ideas, shared on social media platforms only spread hateful and Islamophobic narratives within society. These ideas only further fuel the existing hatred and discrimination towards the Muslim population within Kosovo.

Ethnic discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia

In the city of Gradačac, the Islamic Community of Bosnia and Herzegovina placed a sign on a small cemetery with the inscription ‘A place for burying citizens from mixed marriages. It is forbidden to perform any religious rites. It is forbidden to place any symbols on the gravestone’.

This sign is extremely problematic. By discriminating against individuals of mixed marriage, such signs create segregation within society and uphold divisions between individuals of different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Signs and displays such as these further fuel ethnic discrimination and xenophobia within the region by promoting the idea that individuals of mixed marriage do not belong with the rest of society. These narratives only create tension within heterogeneous communities.

In North Macedonia, during a parliamentary session on the 27^th of June, the MP of the largest Albanian party in Macedonia, Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), held a session where they proposed to prolong the pension years for judges in the country. The opposition VMRO-DPMNE opposed this, fearing that it’s just another way of imposing control over the judiciary. Several of the VMRO-DPMNE MPs stormed the speaker booth in the Parliament, trying to turn off the mic of the DUI speaker Arber Ademi. Ademi responded by standing up and pushing away the hands of the VMRO-DPMNE MPs and at one point, he proceeded to throw a coffee mug and a plastic bottle at the MPs. Following this, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Valmir Aziri, published a post on his Facebook profile claiming that the Anti-Albanian MP Antonio Miloshoski (one of the MP’s that tried to shut down Ademi’s microphone) ‘deserves more’ and that the new generations of Albanians will ‘break the legs and arms’ of those that oppose and go against Albanians in the future. The post has since been removed.

There is increasing and growing tension between the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM) and DUI political parties on the one side and the VMRO-DPMNE on the other. This is just one of the series of arguments and debates that they have all been involved in recently.

This confrontation is problematic on a number of levels. The fact that political leaders, including members of parliament as well as the State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture, spread hateful and, in some cases, aggressive narratives which call for violence towards those against Albanians, fuels ethnic tensions and may even promote violence in society. Political leaders have a responsibility and duty over their actions and behaviour and should avoid such language and rhetoric that creates division and hostility between ethnic communities in North Macedonia.  

The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate on the internet based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region.

June Troll is Vladimir Đukanović, Member of the Serbian Progressive Party and lawyer, who in reaction to the Roe vs. Wade overturn in the USA, spread highly sexist and hateful narratives towards women and feminists because of the topic of abortion.

Roe v. Wade was a landmark Supreme Court decision in 1973 which ruled that the US Constitution protected the liberty of women to choose to have an abortion. Its overturn means that the women’s right to choose to have an abortion is no longer constitutionally protected and falls under the legislation of each US state, which can lead to general restriction reproductive rights in more conservative states. As a reaction to these recent events in the USA, there has been an increasing number of individuals sharing their opinions and taking part in debates on the matter on various social media platforms.

One such individual is the lawyer and Member of the Serbian Progressive Party, Vladimir Đukanović, who recently shared a number of tweets commenting on abortion rights and on the recent US Supreme Court decision. One of these tweets read “Bravo for the decision! Feminists and all other atheists, take your uterus and cry”. This was followed by another tweet which displayed a picture of three cows with the caption “Feminists in disbelief due to the ban on abortion in the USA”. He accompanied this with another explanation where he stated that his intention was never to compare women to cows but rather feminists themselves; “I did not compare women, but aggressive feminists who otherwise in their manner insult the views of us believers. Yes, I consider them the worst evil that advocate the legalisation of murder. I tell you nicely, if you don’t like it, block me”.

If this is not bad enough, he furthermore, went on to express his attitude and bitterness towards, what he claims are, ‘insane feminists’. His tweet read: “I enjoy monstrous aggression and insulting insane feminists. The US Supreme Court killed them in a sense and their attempt to legalise murder as something normal has collapsed. The ideology of death that these frustrated people advocate, thank God, has been defeated. Evil is on its knees”.

Vladimir Đukanović, is an individual of political importance and well-known politician in Serbia. He has around 7, 076 followers on Twitter and a large reach and influence in the country. Such sexist, hateful and insulting narratives towards women  and those in support of abortion rights on social media, could risk spreading such ideas within society. Furthermore, the degrading and insulting language, and use of imagery towards feminists is extremely problematic. The labelling of certain women fighting for abortion rights and equality as ‘aggressive’ and ‘insane’ creates a negative image and rhetoric within society towards feminists and women worldwide. It also marginalises and creates hostility in society towards these groups of people who may feel personally attacked by such statements and narratives.

Political leaders and individuals with a large, influential platform, holding positions of power, should be held responsible for their actions. Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. However, the spread of hateful, sexist and derogatory narratives towards women and feminists, including the use of downgrading comparisons to that of animals, is extremely problematic. These narratives and hate speech only uphold misogynistic and sexist views in society as well as fuelling hatred towards women and those fighting for abortion rights.

Abortion rights are and always have been a matter which is extremely debated within society. The recent events in the United States following the Roe vs. Wade overturn has further polarised this debate and exposed various stances on the matter. However, regardless of individual opinion, the fact remains: every individual should have the right of autonomy over their own body. Nobody should have the power or control to restrict and limit an individual’s self-autonomy and freedom. Every individual should have the liberty and prerogative to exercise their free will.

Throughout the month of May, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month we are highlighting religious hate speech, ethnic discrimination, homophobia and sexism in the Western Balkan region.

Islamophobia in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former member of the presidency of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Stjepan Kljuić, shocked the public after a series of insults and Islamophobic comments against the Minister of Education of the Sarajevo Canton, Naida Hota-Muminović, who wears a hijab.

During the show, Kljuić openly spread hateful and anti-religious narratives aimed at the faith of the Minister of Education of the Sarajevo Canton. Kljuić commented “when I see the Minister of Education of the Sarajevo Canton with a hijab…what is she thinking, what are the little children of non-believers thinking”.

Not only is this incident highly problematic for the spread of Islamophobic sentiment, but furthermore, broadcasting such comments on a TV Channel with a wide reach and audience leads to spreading Islamophobic tropes and discriminatory narratives within society. The media’s role and duty is to hold responsibility for what is broadcasted and shared on their platforms, thus they hold accountability for the spread of such narratives. In this instance, by allowing Kljuić to make these personal, insulting comments in relation to the religion and appearance of the Minister of Education in Sarajevo Canton, the media helped to diffuse these discriminatory narratives and Islamophobic rhetoric amongst the wider public.

In Albania, during the show ‘Arnautistan’ for MCN TV, Analyst Mustafa Nano called for the ban of prayer within public spaces in Albania. This was accompanied by an image of a mass prayer in Elbasan on Eid-al-Fitr where he stated that “this is not my Albania; my Albania has been stolen”. Nano argued that prayer should be restricted to religious sites as such displays “may affect the non-religious part of the country”. “At this rate, Albania will turn into an El Dorado for religious fanatics all over the world”, the analyst added. In reference to the photograph itself, he added that “these women in the photo are humiliated…these women dress like this because their husbands want them to.”

This incident has resulted in a response by the head of the Inter-Religious Institute for Albania, Dr. Arben Ramkaj, who called out Nano for his Islamophobic comments and made a statement for the Audio-visual Media Authority as well as the Commissioner for Protection from Discrimination to react to such statements and incidents.

TV channels such as MCN TV hold a moral and legal responsibility to prevent the spread of discriminatory and hateful narratives. Providing a platform for the dissemination of Islamophobic narratives only upholds and justify religious hate speech in society.

Ethnic discrimination in Kosovo and Montenegro

In Kosovo, marking the occasion of the Abetare Day, an event was held at Xhemajl Kada school in Peje, to mark the usage of the children’s Albanian language textbook (Abetare) which will be used both in Kosovo and Albania.

At the event, students from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities watched the programme separately from other children. Journalists who covered the event and questioned this practice received an answer from the teacher of this school claiming that the students themselves asked to sit separately. This, however, did not match up to the version of events told by the students. The students from the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities said that the teacher told them that if they wanted to follow this program, they had to sit separately from the other children. Later on, there was a statement saying that children from Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities do not regularly attend school and that they study in a separate, special class. Furthermore, although it was not planned, at the students’ request, they were allowed to follow the programme.

There are only a number of schools within Kosovo where students from various communities attend, and although this has received criticism from civil society as unacceptable behaviour, school principals continue to justify and explain that this was a reflection of the demand of parents of students who do not want their children attending classes with Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian students.

Following this incident, the Minister of Education reacted to this discriminatory attitude and in addition to a number of civil society organisations, the Ombudsperson also stated that this was an unacceptable attitude towards students of Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities. Despite the media in Kosovo reacting and responding well to this type of discrimination and racism, including a number of social media commentators, this incident highlights the level of discrimination within public institutions – in this case schools. This incident is highly sensitive one. By creating a division and excluding children and pupils from various ethnic communities, this only further upholds and perpetuates the social exclusion and marginalisation of ethnic communities in Kosovo.

In Montenegro, under the slogan for the celebration of the Day of Victory over Fascism in Danilovgrad, a protest was organised calling for Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Victory Day over Fascism is a day which commemorates and highlights the fight against fascism – the fight for individual rights, defence of democratic values and individual freedom. Calling for active aggression by Russia against Ukraine, only leads to further division within society and undermines the significance of the celebration and organised event taking place. Montenegro is a country with a highly polarised population, divided on many issues including that of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. This type of public support is extremely dangerous and runs the risk of promoting further tension, fragmentation and hostility within society.

Sexism in North Macedonia

This month, the Macedonian representative at Eurovision, Andrea Koevska, was being photographed holding the Macedonian flag. During the photo shoot, she was asked to be photographed without the flag which led her to leave the flag on the floor at that moment. Following this, parts of the public in Macedonia condemned the singer for her action and insulted her using various offensive names as a reaction to her actions. The prosecution even opened a case to see if she violated the relevant legislation.

This led to a number of hate speech comments on various social media, where individual users insulted Andrea in a highly derogatory and personal manner. One comment read: “Stupid, freak, and I don’t know what else”.

Controversies involving Macedonian singers and the Macedonian flag is not a new phenomenon. There has been a similar case involving Macedonian singer Tamara Todevska who once sang the Macedonian national anthem and curiously omitted some of the text within the anthem resulting in her being blamed for acting out of political motives. In this case, citizens were quick and prompt to react following the publication of the video depicting Andrea throwing the flag.

This incident highlights the importance of monitoring social media including the need and significance of various mechanisms put in place to prevent the spread of hate speech and insults aimed at individuals and groups.

Homophobia in Serbia

There has been a number of reported cases of the monkeypox infection in Europe, the United States, Australia and Canada. After the cases of infection were discovered amongst gay and bisexual men, the media began to spread homophobic narratives surrounding the spread of monkeypox.

Various media in Serbia began to report on the infection, claiming it to be a disease that is “transmitted by gay sex”.  In its original title published by newspaper Kurir, their headline read “Monkeypox transmitted by gay sex! Still no cases in Serbia but if the husband has them the marriage can fall apart”. Kurir, alongside the evident homophobic headline, presented a number of misinformation surrounding the spread of the disease. In addition, they intentionally left out the information that the advisor for HIV, hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections at the World Health Organisation (WHO), Andy Seale emphasized that although “we can see some cases amongst men who have sex with men this is not a gay disease”.

Some media also had headlines and narratives similar to that of Kurir, including Radio Television Vojvodina who shared an article titled “no need for panic: mostly homosexuals get infected with monkeypox”. These narratives and headlines only spread fear and mistrust within society, especially towards gay and bisexual men. These headlines and articles which spread information holding little to no truth can result in dangerous homophobic rhetoric and divide amongst the public resulting in the stigmatisation and targeting of certain groups in society. The media should approach topics of importance as public health issues, by providing factual, objective and relevant information for public interest and knowledge without spreading homophobic and harmful disinformation.

The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate on the internet based on gender, ethnicity, religion, or other diversity categories. The Balkan Troll is selected based on hate speech incidents identified across the Western Balkans region.

May Troll is the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Joanikije Mićović, who spoke out in support of the recent initiative by the American Supreme Court, wishing to overturn abortion rights within the United States. The topic of abortion rights is one of much contestation within modern society whereby such narratives create further tension amongst the public.

Earlier this month, the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Joanikije Mićović, came out and voiced his stance on the recent initiative of the American Supreme Court who is looking to overturn abortion rights within the United States. The recent debate surrounding abortion rights within the United States begun with a leaked document published by the media company, Politico, which revealed that the Supreme Court was looking to overturn abortion rights established in the 1973 federal constitutional protection. The immediate ruling would result in putting an end to the “half-century guarantee of federal constitutional protection of abortion rights” alongside the right for each state to decide for themselves where they stand on abortion rights.

As a reaction to this political debate, this incident has received worldwide attention and global spotlight including a variety of reactions and debates. Amongst these was the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Joanikije Mićović, who also spoke out. He argued that such a ruling would indeed be one of reason and conscience. The Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, Joanikije Mićović, stated:

“Deliberately terminating a pregnancy at any stage of it is a terrible sin and is directly directed against God’s original biblical command to give birth. Man alienated from God want to legitimize what is against God’s law, it is, on the one hand, an expression of pernicious selfishness, and, on the other hand, an escape from life, a renunciation of love and God’s blessing. This sin leaves severe, long-lasting and traumatic consequences on the soul of the parents, and is only cured by sincere and long-lasting repentance. Because of what has been said, we accept every initiative for the protection of unborn children, especially this one of the Supreme Court of America, as humane, saving, and pleasing to God”.

Abortion rights is a topic and issue of much contestation within today’s society and globally; there are extremely polarised and fragmented opinions surrounding the topic of abortion. However, the fact remains that women and individuals in society have both the autonomy and right over their own bodies. Furthermore, an individual’s autonomy and personal rights should not be debated, discussed or decided by others. Within a secular state, the church is a separate institution and sphere of influence from the government which has no place in the debate and decision-making regarding women’s autonomy and abortion rights.

By spreading such narratives regarding abortion rights, especially by individuals such as the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, who has a high authority and influence over the public’s opinion, such narratives can only result in further division within society. Montenegro is a country with a large Orthodox religious population, therefore, by having such a predominant religious figure spread such narratives and statements, this only further influences and affects the population’s opinion surrounding abortion rights. When discussing abortion and forming opinions surrounding the topic, this should be treated as a health care matter which is both private and separate from the sphere of religion.

This statement was picked up by various media portals and social media, further spreading it amongst the public in Montenegro. The media, instead of using their educational role and influence to open up the space for medical professionals, researchers and individuals with personal stories regarding abortion, only transmitted the statement of the Metropolitan of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, thus providing the church with the legitimacy to speak and comment on the legality of abortion rights.

Media should open up a debate over such important social issues, however this includes having opinion from various sides. Only transmitting the opinion of a (male) church representative, without hearing from those who are affected the most – a that is women- does not contribute to the democratic public debate.