ANEM ALARM: Cyber Attack on VranjeNews Following Report on the Arrival of Student Cyclists

In February, the continuous attacks on the server also seriously disrupted the operation of the portal and access to content. The editorial team of VranjeNews has been facing ongoing pressures, including threats of physical violence and disturbing messages mentioning the children of editorial staff members. It is particularly concerning that the portal's operation has been hindered precisely at the moment when this independent local media outlet is reporting on an event of significant public interest. ANEM warns that the repeated attacks and pressures directed at the same local editorial team require an urgent and serious response from the relevant institutions.

“The site is operational externally, but publishing new news has been disabled. The internal tools of the portal are functioning with difficulty due to the server attacks. The person who maintains our site suspects it is a bot attack, particularly during the last two days when we were reporting on the student bike tour. We have experienced this before when access to texts was hindered for readers, and we also faced difficulties in entering and publishing new content,” says Dejan Dimić, editor of VranjeNews.

ANEM reminds that the editorial team of VranjeNews has been working under conditions of continuous pressure for a long time, ranging from cyber attacks and attempts to disrupt the portal's operations to threats of physical violence, telephone threats, and threats on social media. In a local environment like Vranje, where journalists almost daily encounter local power holders, individuals, and representatives of institutions they report on, such pressures must be taken very seriously. One particularly disturbing message targeted the children of editorial staff members and was sent after the news was published that the SNS failed to install one of its members as the president of the school board at the Vranje Gymnasium.

Threats and disturbing messages were also sent to Magločistač from Subotica, IN Media from Inđija, Južne vesti, and other media from the same account, yet institutions have not identified or prosecuted the person sending these messages in any of those cases.

In addition to attacks and pressures, VranjeNews is also facing serious financial jeopardy. This year, they have been rejected in all domestic and international competitions they applied for, except for one project in Vladičin Han worth 100,000 dinars, approximately 850 euros, which represents their entire project budget for 2026. They cover operational costs with their own funds and volunteer work, while, as they state, local advertisers often withdraw or avoid cooperation out of fear of government reactions.

At the same time, significant funds from the budget of the City of Vranje, which are managed as personal, go to “neutral media” or those close to the local authorities. This year, the city awarded a contract worth around 2.8 million dinars (about 24,000 euros) through public procurement for advertising services to Insider Tim, the owner of Informer, while 30 million dinars (about 255,000 euros) were allocated for co-financing media content projects.

The combination of security, digital, and economic pressures seriously threatens the work and sustainability of professional local media and further narrows the space for independent and timely information for citizens in local communities. Therefore, ANEM calls on the media community, civil society organizations, and citizens to show solidarity with local editorial teams operating under such conditions and to support them in preserving professional and independent local journalism, as many topics of public interest would not reach national media without them.

Independent Electronic Media Association (ANEM)

The project "System for the Prevention of Violence and Protection of Journalists" is implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insider TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union and the Balkan Fund for Democracy.