In Serbia, a ‘witch-hunt’ for journalists who don’t toe government line
Cenzolovka 10.05.2024 | Attila Mong
“A real epidemic of attacks.” That’s the way Serbian journalist, advocate, and professor Dinko Gruhonjić characterized the state of press freedom in his country in a recent op-ed for the media-focused news site Cenzolovka. Gruhonjić faced severe online harassment after a doctored video in which he appears to praise a war criminal was circulated online in March.
Serbian journalists and press freedom advocates have pointed to a concerning deterioration in the media’s ability to report without fear of reprisal under the country’s populist president, Aleksandar Vučić, who scored a sweeping parliamentary victory last December. Critical journalists feel targeted, sometimes in orchestrated campaigns by Vučić supporters, politicians, public officials, and pro-government media. To better understand the precarious situation for the