News
HATE SPEECH IN THE WESTERN BALKANS: October Monthly Highlights
Throughout the month of October, the RDN monitoring team has detected a range of hateful narratives and discourse. During this month there has been a rise in hate speech including ethnic discrimination, homophobia and sexism across the Western Balkans. Homophobia in Albania and Serbia Pristina artist Astrit Ismaili appeared at the Athens Biennale dressed as …
THE PASSIVITY OF THE INSTITUTIONS TOWARDS THE (RESURRECTION OF) THE PUBLIC ROOMS
It looks like the Macedonian society as a whole has been turned into a large public room, into a voyeuristic chamber in which everyone caresses to peek into the intimacy of a stranger and to appropriate a part of the privacy of the other. This, coupled with the slow or non-existent reaction and the absence …
TROLL OF THE MONTH: A private group on Facebook who shared inappropriate photos of underage Roma girls
The Balkan Troll of the Month is an individual, a group of individuals or a media outlet that spreads hate on the internet 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. Our October Troll of the Month is …
THE BURDEN OF INFORMATION MANIPULATION: WHO SUFFERS THE CONSEQUENCES
Evangelical pastor Akil Pano, leader of the Albanian Coalition for the Protection of the Family, in a Facebook post, reported on a form/questionnaire coming from a kindergarten in Tirana, where the terms ‘mother’ and ‘father’ had been substituted with ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2.’ Pano argued that the “Gay Agenda” has being implemented, stating that …
MATTEL’S GENDER-NEUTRAL DOLLS CREATE STIR IN THE SERBIAN MEDIA
In late 2019, Mattel, a USA toy company, launched “world’s first gender-neutral doll”. Recently, the Creatable World doll became available in Serbia and some of the most influential media in the country reported on it. Some also created a platform to discuss the changes gender inclusive toys will bring to our society. The Serbian media …
BEING TRANS IN SERBIA: THE MEDIA’S SILENCE
Serbia seems to have built a wall of silence around the trans community. This approach is flawed in many aspects, especially as some from the trans community report it can have detrimental consequences. “Gender is one aspect of our identity and it is defined as one’s innermost concept of self as a man or a …
CHILDREN IN TELEVISION PROGRAMS: in between bullying and use for marketing purposes
In the programme “T’ka mami yll” (“You’re mom’s star”) a “reality show” dance program for children aged 10-15 years, broadcast on ABC News television, the inappropriate treatment of a child has been identified due to her body weight. Jury members consistently link the presence of the 8-year-old girl in the program to her excess weight. …
REPORTING DIVERSITY Training of Trainers – Call for Participants
WHEN: 11-13 November 2021 WHERE: Belgrade, Serbia Reporting Diversity Network 2.0 is inviting CSOs; grass-root activists; human rights defenders; journalists; editors; to attend the Reporting Diversity training of trainers. The training will take place in Belgrade, between 11-13 November and will gather 30 participants from across the Western Balkans.The organisers will ensure all necessary epidemiological …
BATTLE OVER HEADLINES: The Kosovar and Serbian media are on different planets
Another “war” between Kosovo and Serbia has ended. This one was over license plates and brought the north of Kosovo back into the spotlight beyond Prishtina and Belgrade. The scenario of this “war” was similar to others in the north. Kosovo used its most serious police force, the Kosovo Police Special Unit, while Kosovo Serbs again …