CIN-CG: MEDIA REPORTING ON THE CETINJE TRAGEDY

Rubbing Salt in the Wound Following the mass murder in Cetinje this January, several Montenegrin online media outlets have published articles regarding the case which spread hate speech, discrimination, and disinformation, while regional tabloid media often violated ethical standards. Most Montenegrin media reported on the tragedy in Cetinje professionally, with some even disabling comments under …

Troll of the Month: Serbian Tabloids

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. Three months ago, a concrete canopy collapsed at the main …

Monthly Monitoring Highlights December: Hatred towards journalists, ethnic hatred, anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric, the politicisation of sexual harassment cases alongside sexism and hateful targeting

During December, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fuelled by hatred towards journalists, anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric, sexism and ethnic hatred. Hatred towards journalists in Kosovo The founder of the online portal “Nacionale,” Berat Buzhala, received a death threat on his Facebook profile with the account name “Valon Karanezi.”  “If I …

Troll of the Year 2024: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama

The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spread hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion or other diversity categories, across the Western Balkan region. In December, RDN combined votes from the Western Balkan countries with input from a public voting process to select the Troll …

REGIONAL MEDIA MONITORING: Ethnicity and gender identity remain the main targets of hate speech as political targeting is on the rise

Reporting Diversity Network has been continuously conducting media monitoring of hate speech on a regional level for almost four years. Our latest set of reports show findings from May 2022 until December 2023. Gender identity and ethnicity remain the most targeted identities, as more than half of all recorded cases across the region referred to …

TROLL OF THE MONTH – SELECTION CRITERIA

The goal of the Reporting Diversity Network 2.0 monitoring is to identify and document the most significant cases (‘incidents’) of hate speech and divisive discourses in the Western Balkans media. Incidents are defined by the speaker regardless of where they occurred, but monitoring refers to their media coverage. They can originate in the Parliament, party …

TROLL OF THE MONTH: Media outlet “Oslobođenje”

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 In Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, another femicide took place. A …

Monthly Monitoring Highlights November: anti-LGBTIQ+ narratives, ethnic and religious discrimination alongside sexism, and attacks against journalists

During November, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fueled by anti-LGBTIQ+ narratives, ethnic and religious discrimination alongside sexism, and attacks against journalists. Anti-LGBTIQ+ sentiments in North Macedonia At an event organised by the Youth Education Forum (YEF), the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) and the National Student Body (NSB), …

TROLL OF THE MONTH: Zlatan Begić, a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Tuzla

Zlatan Begić, a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Tuzla and a representative in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) 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 …

The case of Imane Khelif: How women athletes are always on trial

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won Olympic gold amid media scrutiny that overshadowed her athletic achievements, in a global moral panic over whether she was truly a woman. Sensationalist media reporting and online abuse that went viral globally was led by sexism, transphobia and racism, and fueled by gender disinformation. In Serbian media, headlines and narratives …

Weaponising Fear: How Disinformation Exploits ‘Child Protection’ to Undermine Trans Rights in North Macedonia 

In North Macedonia, trans women remain a relatively rare and marginalised group, with limited visibility and representation in public life. However, this has not stopped anti-gender movements and conservative groups from exploiting the issue, often using parents and children to stir controversy and undermine trans rights in the country.   Disinformation often revolves around the theme …