News
LOOK ON THE RIGHT: “ANTI-GENDER” POLITICS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE IN THE WESTERN BALKANS
In 2015, a report by the Mediacenter Foundation found that ‘anti-gender’ politics was very much alive in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, lobbying, organising mass protests or public referendums. Nine years on, it is still a major concern. ‘Anti-gender’ politics is one of the most powerful political options, mobilising citizens from different social and economic backgrounds, …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Dr. Ferid Agani
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 Kosovo, there has been a large debate and divide …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Professor Biljana Vankovska
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. Early this year, a group of people broke into the …
Monthly Monitoring Highlights January: racism, ethnic hatred and gender violence
Throughout the month of January, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month, we have seen hatred based on ethnicity, race, and gender alongside genocide denial. Racism in Serbia In Serbia, an Instagram account started posting photos of Black people in Serbia, taken in public without their consent …
ADVERTISING INEQUALITY
ADVERTISING IN KOSOVO CONTINUES TO PERPETUATE GENDER INEQUALITY. The gentle clink of a spoon against a tiny teacup accompanies the sight of a Turkish teapot boiling on the stove. A door opens and a man enters the house. Over 10 people are gathered in the living room waiting for him, a woman with a smile …
WOMEN AND NATIONAL MINORITIES STILL THE MOST FREQUENT TARGETS OF HATE SPEECH – Results of media monitoring in the Western Balkans
Reporting Diversity Conference 15-16 February 2024 Podgorica, Montenegro Reporting Diversity Network organised a two-day conference on hateful and harmful narratives in the Western Balkans where the Network presented preliminary results of the media monitoring reports, which will be published in March. The conference brought together over 40 media experts, activists, civil society representatives from …
STRENGHTENING MEDIA CAMPAIGNING AND ADVOCACY SKILLS: Reporting Diversity Advanced Training
Podgorica, Montenegro; 13-16 February 2024 Reporting Diversity Network organised a three-day Reporting Diversity training for CSOs, grassroots activists, and human rights defenders in Podgorica, Montenegro. The training took place between 13-16 February 2024 and gathered 34 participants from across the Western Balkans. The participants gained skills that will help them recognise hate speech and divisive …
A HUMAN TRAFFICKING CASE IN ALBANIA: Media must do better
NOTE: TV Klan was initially selected as Troll of the Month, but after additional internal consultations, the RDN team has recognised the following: The coverage of TV Klan, even though still sensationalistic, misleading and unprofessional in the headline and deserves to be treated as harmful speech, does not meet the criteria for the Troll of …
COMMENTS THAT LEAVE A MARK
ONLINE ABUSE IS JUST AS SERIOUS AS OFFLINE ABUSE. In September 2022, MP Daorsa Kica Xhelili announced that she was leaving Lista Guxo for the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). Kica Xhelili initially was a member of Vetëvendosje (VV), and was elected to the Assembly of Kosovo in the 2021 general election. Her election was …