North Macedonia
30 years since the Srebrenica genocide: Genocide denial persists in regional media
8372 Bosniak men and boys were killed by the Army of the Republika Srpska on July 11, 1995, in what is widely recognised as the largest massacre in Europe since the Second World War. This year marked three decades since the genocide. Here is how the media in the region reported before, during, and after …
Monthly Highlights July: Ethnic discrimination, sensationalism, genocide relativisation and denial and the restriction on personal freedom
During the month of July, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fuelled by genocide denial and relativisation alongside ethnic discrimination, sensationalism and the imposition of restrictions on personal freedom. Ethnic Discrimination in Serbia and Kosovo In Serbia, on the morning of July 29th, masked individuals—later revealed to be a …
Monthly Highlights June: Ethnic discrimination, sexism, online harassment alongside hatred towards journalists and genocide denial
During the month of June, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fuelled by sexism and ethnic discrimination alongside online harassment and cases of genocide denial and hatred towards journalists. Ethnic discrimination fuelled by the media in North Macedonia In North Macedonia, a headline was published reading “ПРИТИСНАЛ НА ГАС, …
When Grief Becomes Political: How Tragedy is Weaponized Against a Free Press and Youth in North Macedonia and Serbia
Two recent tragedies—one in North Macedonia and one in Serbia—have sparked waves of student-led protests in Skopje and Belgrade, drawing attention to deep-seated political and institutional failures in both countries. In March, a horrific fire tore through the makeshift Pulse nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia, killing 61 people and injuring hundreds more. Meanwhile, in Novi …
Troll of the Month: Petar Bogojeski, leader of the Macedonian Concept party
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 Balkan region. The appointment of Petar Bogojeski, leader of the Macedonian Concept …
Escaping to the future
“My main motivation for going to study abroad was the desire for change, in the sense that I wanted to experience living somewhere abroad in my twenties,” says one of the Montenegrin students currently studying in Slovenia. The emigration of young people is not just a problem for a society in Montenegro, but also elsewhere …
Monthly Highlights March: sexism and misogyny, attacks on journalists, the spread of disinformation, bias and death threats
During March, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fuelled by sexism and misogyny alongside the spread of disinformation, bias and death threats coupled with attacks on journalists. Sexism and misogyny in Albania and Montenegro In Albania, during a controversial interview with Revista Bordo, author Albi Lushi claimed that women …
Open call for project applications
Media Diversity Institute Western Balkans along with the partners in Reporting Diversity Network have opened the call for project proposals aiming to counter hate speech and improve representation of diversity. The call was opened as part of the Reporting Diversity Network, which was established with the objective of effectively influencing media representation of ethnicity, religion, …
Regional media reporting on months-long student-led protests in Serbia
Novi Sad train station canopy collapsed on November 1st, 2024, killing fifteen people, and severely injuring two more. This ignited a nationwide, student-led movement in Serbia, demanding justice for victims and the rule of law. Since the protests began, RDN has closely followed how Serbian media have covered them. As students are currently marching from …