MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN MONTENEGRO 2025

Between January 2024 and June 2025, data were collected through monitoring both traditional media and social media content related to various social identities and groups, including gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual minorities, and migrants/refugees. During this period, CIN CG recorded a total of 81 individual incidents involving hate speech and/or discriminatory language.

Out of 81 cases, 34 cases targeted multiple categories of identities, while 47 cases encompassed one type of hate speech (e.g. targeting only gender or only ethnicity). The most prevalent type of hate speech in Montenegro is against ethnicity, which has also been noted during previous monitoring periods. Overall, 35 incidents against ethnicity were collected. Out of those, 21 cases also consisted of another type of hate speech, most commonly against religion. This indicates that hate speech in Montenegro often goes hand in hand with hate speech against religion. Montenegro’s mix of ethnic and religious communities, combined with deep societal divides, makes the findings consistent with the country’s underlying social frictions.

An analysis of the sources of hate speech indicates that many incidents involved multiple contributors, particularly in cases where politicians and institutions provoked public reaction through problematic remarks or actions. The most frequent contributors were politicians, political parties, and state officials, who were involved in 30 incidents. They were followed by journalists, media personnel, and media analysts, with 24 cases. Private individuals accounted for 11 incidents, while professors and other intellectuals were perpetrators in eight cases. Influencers, bloggers, and social media activists contributed to nine cases.

In contrast, civil society organisations, celebrities, artists, and popular culture persons were involved in only three recorded incidents, representing a minimal share of the total. There were 32 cases in which multiple perpetrators were involved.

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