HOW THE MEDIA AND INSTITUTIONS FAILED: The harmful effects of sensationalist reporting on mass shootings in Serbia

It only took a few hours for a tragedy to become mired in sensationalism, disinformation, and unethical reporting. In the early hours of the morning of 3 May, eight students and a security guard were killed and six students and a teacher injured during a school shooting in Belgrade, Serbia. This was not only a …

Monthly Monitoring Highlights – hateful discourses in the Western Balkans

Throughout the month of April, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. This month we have spotted hatred against journalists and political opponents as well as religious, gender, and ethnic discrimination. Hatred against political opponents in Serbia   In Serbia, during the morning show “Dobro jutro Srbijo” (Good Morning …

TROLL OF THE MONTH: Spartak Ngjela, lawyer and public figure

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. During the month of April, in an interview held on …

ON FATHERS AND PATRIARCHS

CAN A BOY WHO GROWS UP IN A PATRIARCHAL SETTING EVER BECOME A GOOD FATHER? *The views expressed in the article are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of K2.0 or RDN 2.0 A political debate regarding reproductive freedom and assisted fertility took place in Kosovo’s Assembly in mid March after a new draft …

HATE SPEECH AND PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN MONTENEGRO

Concerns have been raised about rising intolerance, the spread of hatred, and poor media standards following recent elections in Montenegro. The first round of presidential elections, which involved seven candidates, was held in Montenegro on 19 March. A second round of voting, with two candidates, took place on 2 April, with Jakov Milatović, the candidate …

Monthly monitoring highlights: a range of hateful discourse throughout March

Throughout the month of March, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. Transphobia and Homophobia in Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina In Albania, Syri TV’s morning show called ‘Kafe Shqeto’ invited a member of the queer community in Albania – Luana Myrto – a transgender woman as well as …

THE INVISIBLE BURDEN ON WOMEN JOURNALISTS

NEW REPORT CONFIRMS WIDE SCALE SEXISM IN KOSOVO’S NEWSROOMS. The majority of journalists reporting from the field on most Kosovar television networks are women. They even report in dangerous situations, such as during the recent tensions in the north of Kosovo. They do it all: protests, parties, vox-pop and more. More noteworthy is that over …

WHY DOES SERBIA GROW MANY A SAPIC AND JUST THE ODD GARY LINEKER

Manipulating the myth of Kosovo, the politics of Aleksandar Vučić has enabled public/media discourse to become consumed with hatred towards vulnerable groups (women, the LGBTQ+ population, people of different religious and political affiliations) and almost completely devoid of empathy and solidarity. When former British footballer and current sports presenter Gary Lineker tweeted about the UK …

TROLL OF THE MONTH: Stefan Lazarov, YouTube influencer

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. A popular North Macedonian YouTuber and influencer by the name …