Monthly Monitoring Highlights December: Hatred towards journalists, ethnic hatred, anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric, the politicisation of sexual harassment cases alongside sexism and hateful targeting
During December, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fuelled by hatred towards journalists, anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric, sexism and ethnic hatred. Hatred towards journalists in Kosovo The founder of the online portal “Nacionale,” Berat Buzhala, received a death threat on his Facebook profile with the account name “Valon Karanezi.” “If I …
Troll of the Year 2024: Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spread hate based on gender, ethnicity, religion or other diversity categories, across the Western Balkan region. In December, RDN combined votes from the Western Balkan countries with input from a public voting process to select the Troll …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Media outlet “Oslobođenje”
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 In Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, another femicide took place. A …
The case of Imane Khelif: How women athletes are always on trial
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif won Olympic gold amid media scrutiny that overshadowed her athletic achievements, in a global moral panic over whether she was truly a woman. Sensationalist media reporting and online abuse that went viral globally was led by sexism, transphobia and racism, and fueled by gender disinformation. In Serbian media, headlines and narratives …
Weaponising Fear: How Disinformation Exploits ‘Child Protection’ to Undermine Trans Rights in North Macedonia
In North Macedonia, trans women remain a relatively rare and marginalised group, with limited visibility and representation in public life. However, this has not stopped anti-gender movements and conservative groups from exploiting the issue, often using parents and children to stir controversy and undermine trans rights in the country. Disinformation often revolves around the theme …
REGIONAL MEDIA MONITORING: Ethnicity and gender identity remain the main targets of hate speech as political targeting is on the rise
Reporting Diversity Network has been continuously conducting media monitoring of hate speech on a regional level for almost four years. Our latest set of reports show findings from May 2022 until December 2023. Gender identity and ethnicity remain the most targeted identities, as more than half of all recorded cases across the region referred to …
TROLL OF THE MONTH – SELECTION CRITERIA
The goal of the Reporting Diversity Network 2.0 monitoring is to identify and document the most significant cases (‘incidents’) of hate speech and divisive discourses in the Western Balkans media. Incidents are defined by the speaker regardless of where they occurred, but monitoring refers to their media coverage. They can originate in the Parliament, party …
Monthly Monitoring Highlights November: anti-LGBTIQ+ narratives, ethnic and religious discrimination alongside sexism, and attacks against journalists
During November, the RDN monitoring team detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse fueled by anti-LGBTIQ+ narratives, ethnic and religious discrimination alongside sexism, and attacks against journalists. Anti-LGBTIQ+ sentiments in North Macedonia At an event organised by the Youth Education Forum (YEF), the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO) and the National Student Body (NSB), …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: Zlatan Begić, a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Tuzla
Zlatan Begić, a Professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Tuzla and a representative in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) 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 …
The silent power of words: Unraveling Gender Disinformation in Albanian Media
Gender disinformation offers a vital lens through which we can better understand the intricate ways in which media perpetuates inequality and reinforces imbalances of power. Alfred Peza’s resignation from Albanian Public Radio Television (RTSH) has exposed profound challenges in media representation and journalistic ethics. What initially appeared to be a routine administrative transition quickly became …
RTCG and Reporting on Trans Rights: When Public Broadcaster Allows Religious Leaders to Judge
In March 2024, Radio Television of Montenegro (RTCG), through its broadcasts of the programmes “Dnevnik” and “Argumenti”, as well as in an article on its website, contributed to spreading gender disinformation by presenting unbalanced views, dominated by religious figures, on LGBTIQ+ rights. The topic was the Draft Law on Legal Gender Recognition Based on Self-Determination. …
