Monthly Highlights September: glorification of war criminals, ethnic hatred, misinformation and anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric

During the month of September, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fuelled by sexism and glorification of war criminals alongside anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric, misinformation and ethnic hate speech.

Sexism and glorification of war criminals in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The cultural event “Kočićev zbor” (Kočić’s Assembly), held on August 29, 30, and 31, 2025, in Banja Luka and Zmijanje, was organized by the Ministry of Education and Culture of Republika Srpska.

Kočićev zbor, an annual cultural and literary event in Republika Srpska, is dedicated to celebrating the legacy of Petar Kočić, a renowned Bosnian writer and activist. Local officials, cultural figures, and the public attended the event.

During the event, a shameful incident was recorded involving top ruling party officials Vlado Đajić, Savo Minić, and Milorad Dodik from The Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD). As reported by the media in Bosnia and Herzegovina on September 3, they were dancing and laughing to the lyrics: “Oh doctor, check my wife, last night I beat her spleen”.

The video, according to posts, was shared by the mayor of Bijeljina, who called on women’s associations and NGOs to react, warning that “otherwise, any further fight against violence would be meaningless.”

Furthermore, during the last day of the cultural manifestation, a journalist team from the Balkan Investigative Network of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Detektor.ba) recorded stands with T-shirts featuring the image of convicted war criminal Ratko Mladić. The T-shirt being sold features Mladić’s image and the inscription “General, are you afraid of anyone? Only God and no one else”.

The ban on glorifying war criminals or denying war crimes was introduced through amendments to the Criminal Code of Bosnia and Herzegovina, imposed by High Representative Valentin Inzko in July 2021. Mladić, the former commander of the Army of Republika Srpska, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in June 2021 for genocide in Srebrenica, persecution of Bosniaks and Croats, terrorising the citizens of Sarajevo, and taking UNPROFOR members hostage. Promoting his image and thereby invertedly glorifying a war criminal, is highly insensitive and indeed harmful and upsetting to all those families and victims of the horrors imposed by Mladić and his army. Such scenes should not take place at any events, especially those organised by institutions, nor should they be justified.

Anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric in Albania

During the month of September in Albania, a public debate was held over the Draft Law on Gender Equality, which aimed to align national legislation with international human rights standards.

The debate took place within a culturally conservative society where traditional family values and religious norms remain highly influential. Political actors, religious institutions (such as the Muslim Community of Albania – KMSH), and some civil society groups leveraged these cultural sensitivities to frame the draft law as a threat to family, education, language, and national identity.

In addition, media outlets amplified these narratives, often without contextualising the legal provisions, contributing to public confusion and alarm. These often-misleading narratives, portraying LGBTQI+ individuals and gender equality advocates as a moral threat to society served to foster stigmatisation, panic and hostility towards the targeted groups. The misrepresentation of the intent of the law led to hateful narratives and anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric.

This environment reflects the broader challenge of implementing progressive gender equality reforms in a socially and politically conservative context, where misrepresentation and moralistic framing can easily influence public perception and foster hostility toward marginalised groups. The media, acting as messengers to society, should not be the catalyst of misrepresentation and hate towards marginalised groups in society. On the contrary, they should provide facts and truth allowing members of society to make their own opinions whilst also protecting marginalised groups from harm.

Misinformation and fake news in Montenegro

On one early September morning, on social media, claims began circulating that a mother’s child was abducted from her arms in a shopping mall (Big Fashion) in Podgorica. According to the post, the shopping mall was allegedly closed instantly, and the child was found with tape over their mouth and their hair cut. Some posts claimed the child was then found in a restroom and that foreign nationals (according to the allegations, “Turks”) were responsible. There was also an emphasis on this not being the first of such an event.

In response to the posts circulating social media, parents and concerned citizens exchanged messages, especially in Viber groups, about the supposed event. As a result, there was widespread fear and questions about child safety. In Montenegro, as in many places, stories about child safety are particularly sensitive and parents are especially worried about abductions, trafficking and safety in public spaces. When an event involves children, conversations on social media spreads very quickly.

Following havoc and panic, it then came out that the initial post regarding the child abduction was fake and the information not true. The alleged involvement of “Turks” fed into broader narratives and fears about migration, or so called “outsiders,” and national security. One article reporting on the incident noted that the “anti-Turkish” narrative was a strong component of the panic resulting in fearmongering and pointing of fingers at communities living in Montenegro. Moreover, as institutions in Montenegro (e.g. police, statistical offices, NGOs) are sometimes mistrusted or not immediately believed, false claims can persist even after official denial of the claims, as in this case. Regardless of no evidence of the abduction taking place nor holding any truth to the matter, no accountability has been held. This highlighting the dangers of disinformation being spread like wildfire on social media with little to no accountability or responsibility. It is the role of the media to inform their public of the truth and to debunk any disinformation circulating whilst social media companies themselves should use their agency to take down fake news and not permit hate and division to be spread based on disinformation.

Ethnic hate in Kosovo and North Macedonia

In Kosovo, after dozens of attempts to elect the Speaker of the Assembly, the majority of deputies finally gave the green light and elected Dimal Basha from the “Vetëvendosje” party to this position. Public opinion was divided in its reactions to Basha’s election. He received support from his party’s sympathizers, but not from those of other parties or from the majority of citizens who are not politically engaged. This dissatisfaction, among a considerable number of commentators, turned into racist remarks on social media because of his darker skin colour — even though it is well known that Basha is Albanian and does not belong to the Roma, Ashkali, or Egyptian communities.

This reaction can be explained by the considerable portion of citizens in Kosovo who do not accept diversity and oppose granting greater rights to people with different sexual orientations, ethnic minorities, or to individuals with a different skin colour. In this particular case, because of Basha’s darker skin colour, a significant number of social media commentators did not hesitate to use hate speech and to cynically remark that the institutions have “fallen into the hands” of minorities or Ashkali (Roma who speak the Albanian language). According to Kosovo’s laws, all communities have equal rights, and each of their representatives can be elected to head Kosovo’s institutions.

News on the Ashkali community is often accompanied by hate speech and language in the comment sections of the articles. Such is the case with online media outlet Nacionale where one of their journalists visited an Ashkali family that had been living for some time in the basement of a building. The husband, his pregnant wife, and their seven children, who were evicted from their rented home, had been unable to find shelter for two weeks, despite seeking help from both the municipality and the police.

The journalist contacted the head of the municipality and the official responsible for social issues and community rights and then revisited the family. Temporary accommodation was provided, and the wife and children were placed in a women’s shelter, while the husband was given temporary lodging in a hotel.

If it is confirmed that this family is from Prizren, and not from Gjakova as stated in the video recording, the municipality has promised to resolve their permanent housing issue.

Following this, there was a surge of hateful speech on social media including hate and insults directed at the family based on their ethnicity. It is the role and responsibility of the media to ensure that hate does not flourish in the comment sections of their articles but rather to provide a healthy space to talk about important issues such as that of the unequal treatment of different minority groups in the country.

In North Macedonia, Ali Ahmeti is the longtime leader of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI), the dominant ethnic Albanian party in North Macedonia and a key player in almost every governing coalition since 2002. DUI has positioned itself as both the political representative of Albanians in the country and a strong pro-European force, often framing EU integration as the only realistic path for stability and coexistence.

In a recent exchange, Ali Ahmeti reportedly sent a message to Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, according to 4NEWS.mk, warning that if North Macedonia does not continue its path toward EU integration, citizens might feel compelled to seek unification with Albania or, in some cases, Bulgaria. He added, however, that hatred should not be spread among citizens, emphasizing that it is neither Albanians, Albania, nor Bulgaria that are taking over the country, noting that Bulgaria is in the EU and questioning North Macedonia’s place if it falls behind. The Facebook page Dissident View published the news, generating over 500 comments. Many of the comments contained hate speech and harmful narratives, with users debating historical grievances and ethnic origins from both Albanian and Macedonian perspectives.

Furthermore, during the election campaign, Ali Ahmeti also used a metaphor in his rally speech directed at Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski. He said that “you cannot go hunting eagles with hunting dogs, because eagles fly high,” implying that Albanian representatives in the government are treated like “hunting dogs,” while Albanians themselves are “eagles” who cannot be controlled.

Prime Minister Mickoski quickly replied, saying that Ahmeti is “not an eagle, but just a bird,” dismissing his metaphor and undermining his self-description as a leader representing strength and dignity.

The exchange was widely discussed online and in the media, with interpretations split along political and ethnic lines. For some, Ahmeti’s words highlighted the mistreatment of Albanians in government, while Mickoski’s response was seen as an insult toward Albanians more broadly. Others, however, saw both leaders as using divisive language to mobilize voters during the campaign.

The exchange of hateful speech between Ali Ahmeti and the Prime Minister can be seen has hateful and unprofessional. Regardless of political stance and methods used to garner votes, such campaigning should not rest upon personal insults and especially not those along ethnic lines. North Macedonia is a multi-ethnic country where there remain division and tension amongst ethnic groups. Political leaders should not use this division to further their agenda regardless of their stance and politics – rather than seeking division, those in power should use their platform to promote inclusivity and respect.

Hate speech in Serbia

The second season of the children’s show Važne stvari (Important Matters) on the Radio Television of Serbia (RTS) began with an episode in which a twelve-year-old boy talked about how he temporarily did not have classes at school, explaining that it was because of the student blockades and protests “because the students are fighting for justice and for our future”. The concept of the show is that children are getting their hair cut, while the hairdresser asks simple questions about them, their families, school and daily life. Children then talk about things that are important to them.

The boy’s statement went viral on social media, with the original Instagram reel featuring the excerpt from the show reaching over 2.7 million views. This was followed by many messages of support. Still, it also caused negative reactions in pro-regime media, which described this show as a “shameful abuse of children” for political propaganda.

This caused a chain reaction, starting with the cancellation of the replay of the show the very next day, the episode being removed from the show’s official YouTube account, and the RTS Board of Directors reporting the show to the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media for violating the rights of minors.

Pro-regime media outlets reported not only exposed the child to hate but also targeted anyone involved with the show both on RTS and the production team behind it. This reporting suggested that children should not have an opinion about the world around them, presented the childs statement and the show as “propaganda” and abused the boy’s statement as collateral damage in targeting RTS and N1, whereby the pro-regime media do what they accuse others of. For instance, television channel and online portal Informer, targeted the owners of the production company behind the show, characterising them as “supporters of blockaders”.

RTS workers’ collective Naš proTeSt called on the management to protect the editor of the Children’s program at RTS, Jelena Popadić Sumić, who was also targeted in Informer and Alo. The production team of the show stated that the concept they are working on “explicitly defines how children are treated and communicated with, from casting to recording to the broadcast of the show. Children talk about topics that are important to them, any instruction from the author or presenter is not allowed and is not practiced.” Children and young people are not isolated from reality. They live in a society where protests, blockades and political tensions affect their daily life, and they have the right to think and speak about it.