News

TROLL OF THE MONTH: TV Pink

December 2023 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, in the morning show “Novo jutro” …

Monthly Highlights November: trivialisation of femicide & hatred against political opponents

Throughout the month of November, the RDN monitoring team has detected hatred based on ethnicity, gender, race, the trivialisation of femicide and hatred against political opponents. Racism in Albania and Kosovo In Albania, an agreement was made between the Albanian and Italian Prime Ministers to relocate thousands of African migrants, currently recognised as asylum seekers …

Online Violence Against Women in Politics: A Threat to Democracy

Online violence against female politicians, which impacts women’s representation in political and other decision-making institutions, has various consequences that harm democracy. The impact of online violence goes against the fundamental tenets of democracy, presenting novel challenges to states and institutions in controlling and holding perpetrators accountable. Although there are outstanding issues in controlling and monitoring …

Unveiling Injustice – Securitizing misogyny in Serbian tabloids from below: The case of I.M.

In September 2022, the news about the release of a serial rapist I.M., who spent 15 years in prison, caught headlines in Serbia. Various media outlets disseminated details of his criminal history, and physical appearance, and urged caution to women. The public responded by widely sharing articles and information on social media, intensifying what resembled …

TROLL OF THE MONTH: Serbian Ombudsman Zoran Pašalić

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. On the 24th of November, at the start of the …

The Bitterness of (Coffee and) Domestic Violence

Domestic violence is an increasingly discussed issue with global prevalence. However, there is an often-overlooked form of domestic abuse involving mother-in-laws (MILs) perpetrating harm on their daughters-in-law (DILs). This pattern of abuse, witnessed in my family and numerous others, perpetuates trauma across generations. Such violence encompasses emotional, financial, and physical abuse, inflicting lasting and immediate …

WHY HAVING DEBATE TV SHOWS WHEN THERE IS A LACK OF COMMUNICATION CULTURE

The use of hate speech is a serious issue and must be seriously taken into account not only by the government authorities but also by civil society, including journalists. Television news and programs should influence the emancipation of society and combat ethnic, religious, cultural and local barriers and stereotypes. This is especially the case in …

Monthly Monitoring Highlights – problematic narratives all around the Western Balkans

Throughout the month of October, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month, we have seen hatred based on gender, ethnicity as well as hatred aimed towards journalists and persons with disabilities. Trivialisation of rape and attacks on a journalist reporting on sexual abuse in Albania In the …