MONITORING REPORT ON HATE SPEECH IN SERBIA 2025
September 24, 2025
This report presents the findings of media monitoring of hateful and discriminatory discourse (HDD) in Serbia from January 2024 to July 2025, highlighting the most common narratives and ways they operate, main sources of harmful content and main targeted groups. It also explores responses of institutions and civil society, as well as preventive measures taken to strengthen resilience to hate speech.
What truly shaped this monitoring period was the growing political crisis that hit Serbia in the aftermath of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse on November 1st, 2024, that left 16 dead, and one severely injured.
National journalists’ associations reported on worsening issues throughout 2025, including a surge of physical attacks and police violence against journalists, with dozens assaulted while covering protests, and targeting through smear campaigns and spy software.
Hateful and harmful narratives in media flourished in this political atmosphere, often used as a political tool against students and citizens protesting, opposition, civil society and others who opposed the regime, as well as journalists reporting from the ground. Monitoring results highlight a surge in political targeting, but also ethnic, gendered, and other forms of hate manipulated against those perceived as political opponents.
Fake News Tragač found 6420 misleading texts about blockades and protests on the most popular portals during the first six months of 2025. Analysed texts repeatedly breached Serbia’s Journalists’ Code. This research also notes frequent smear campaigns targeting individuals with hate speech and discriminatory rhetoric based on political views, ethnicity, or gender.
This report is a part of the regional monitoring of hate speech in the media conducted by partner organisations in Western Balkan countries, as part of the Reporting Diversity Network (RDN). The Media Diversity Institute Western Balkans has implemented the media monitoring of hate speech in Serbia since 2021. This is the third national report as part of this research, covering the period from January 1st, 2024, to June 30th, 2025. The first report covered the period from January 2021 to April 2022, and the second report covered the period from May 2022 to December 2023
