News
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE WITH MEDIA
What to read? What to watch? Who to listens to? Who to believe? Can I trust my own judgement? Gaza. Haiti. Iran. Israel. Kosovo. Myanmar. Nagorno-Karabakh. Niger. Sudan. Ukraine. Wherever there is conflict there are conflicting narratives. And if you are not in the midst of it you rely entirely on such media outlets as …
Monthly Monitoring Highlights – ethnic tensions, sexism and hate speech
Throughout September, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month, we have seen gender-based violence, sexism, hate speech against journalists and a rise in ethnic tension. Gender Based Violence in North Macedonia During the month of September, a woman was stabbed to death by a person she was …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Tabloid Alo
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. Alo! is a popular daily tabloid newspaper published in Serbia, …
GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE MEDIA
THE MEDIA MUST CHALLENGE SEXISM AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION IN ITS OWN RANKS. At the beginning of September, the news website Kallxo published an article titled “Radio Television of Men” that investigated the recruitment process at public broadcaster Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) for the positions of deputy director, radio director and head of Shared Services — all …
RDN’s request for moderation of the comments under the Serbian portal N1 post
User-generated comments below articles of famous media outlets in the Western Balkans can become a way of spreading harmful narratives. Even when the media content is produced in line with all professional standards, the comment sections, when left unmoderated, can still disturb the general public. Simultaneously, the media have the power and the responsibility to …
Monthly Monitoring Highlights – discrimination and sensational reporting
Throughout the month of August, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month we have seen hatred based on gender, disabilities, sexuality, and ethnicity; as well as sensationalism in the media. Gender discrimination in Serbia Ivana Parlić, a Member of Parliament coming from the People’s Party recently took …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Kosovo MPs Rrahmani and Balje, and the head of Prizren’s Islamic Community Berisha
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’s Troll are two members of Kosovo parliament Eman …
IN DEFENCE OF DIGNITY
In a world filled with increasing awareness and understanding about autism and related neurological conditions, it is deeply disheartening and concerning to come across remarks that not only showcase ignorance but also perpetuate harmful stereotypes. In a recent incident that has sparked a public outcry in North Macedonia, a private individual named Ranko Srbakoski took …
Monthly Monitoring Highlights – genocide denial and hatred based on gender
Throughout the month of July, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month, we have seen hatred based on ethnicity and gender along with the unsettling occurrence of genocide denial, coinciding with the commemoration of the Srebrenica genocide. Genocide denial in Bosnia and Herzegovina July 11th marks Srebrenica …