A viewpoint poll carried out because of the Institute for European Affairs in September 2019 implies that 23 % of Serbian residents think Russia is Serbia’s aid donor that is largest. The truth is, Russia hasn’t made the utmost effective 10 of Serbia’s biggest donors since 2000, based on the data because of the Ministry of European Integration. The EU tops record with 2.96 billion euros in help, accompanied by USA with 696 million.

What exactly is generally thought to be the explanation for such perception may be the prevalence of Russian-sponsored news in Serbia, whoever protection not only aligns with all the Kremlin’s geopolitical passions, but in addition usually promotes deceptive and out-and-out incorrect information. Dr Precious N. Chatterje-Doody of Manchester University explained this process in a declaration for Ukrainian fact-checking service StopFake:

By blending fact and fiction, playing on popular sentiments among international audiences and attempting to sway general public viewpoint in a specific way that serves Moscow’s interests, they methodically pursue the Kremlin’s geopolitical goals, while discrediting journalistic maxims along the way.

Disinformation in Serbian news is very alarming when it comes to the impact it holds on the Balkans. Zoran Andonovski, editor-in-chief of Skopje-based Meta.mk Information Agency, describes:

The geographical proximity, the long typical history into the previous Yugoslavia and social similarities all subscribe to the elevated image of Serbia, causing the perception that any information (or disinformation) originating from there must be accepted at face value, without significance of verification. The Serbian news marketplace is much bigger compared to Macedonian, for instance, its news organizations are far more developed and economically powerful, so that they can pay for volume that is high of manufacturing which “impresses” the less confident Macedonian media employees, in specific from tiny or startup online portals. Continue reading This article is made feasible by way of a partnership with Transitions, A prague-based publishing and media training company →