ANEM ALARM: Cyber Attack on VranjeNews Following Report on the Arrival of Student Cyclists
The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) strongly condemns yet another cyber attack on the VranjeNews portal, which occurred shortly after reporting on the arrival of the student cycling tour in Vranje. Although the site is accessible to readers, the editorial team is unable to publish new news articles. This is the second cyber attack on VranjeNews since the beginning of the year.
In February, continuous attacks on the server also severely disrupted the operation of the portal and access to content. The editorial team of VranjeNews has been continuously facing pressures, including threats of physical violence and disturbing messages that mentioned the children of editorial staff members. It is particularly concerning that the portal's operations were disrupted again at the moment when this independent local media outlet was reporting on an event of significant public interest. ANEM warns that the repeated attacks and pressures directed at the same local newsroom require an urgent and serious response from the relevant institutions.
“The site is operational externally, but publishing new news is disabled. The internal tools of the portal are functioning with difficulty due to the server attacks. The person maintaining our site suspects it is a bot attack, particularly in the last two days when we reported on the student bike tour. This has happened to us before when access to articles was hindered for readers, as well as the input and publication of new content,” said Dejan Dimić, editor of VranjeNews.
ANEM reminds that the editorial team of VranjeNews has been working for a long time under conditions of continuous pressures ranging from cyber attacks and attempts to disrupt the portal's operations, to threats of physical violence, phone threats, and threats on social media. In a local environment like Vranje, where journalists encounter local power holders, individuals, and representatives of institutions they report on almost daily, such pressures must be taken very seriously. One particularly disturbing message was directed against the children of editorial staff members and was sent after the news was published that the SNS failed to place its member in the position of president of the school board of the Vranje Gymnasium.
Threats and disturbing messages were also received by Magločistač from Subotica, IN Media from Inđija, Južne vesti, and other media from the same account, and in none of those cases did the institutions identify or prosecute the person who sent them.
In addition to attacks and pressures, VranjeNews is facing serious financial jeopardy. This year, they were rejected in all domestic and international competitions to which they applied, except for one project in Vladičin Han worth 100,000 dinars, or around 850 euros, which represents their entire project budget for 2026. They cover operational costs with their own funds and volunteer work, while local advertisers, as they state, 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 about 2.8 million dinars (around 24,000 euros) to the advertising services firm Insajder Tim, the owner of Informer, through public procurement, while 30 million dinars (about 255,000 euros) were allocated for project co-financing of media content.
The combination of security, digital, and economic pressures seriously jeopardizes 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 newsrooms 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.
Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM)
The project “Improvement of the system mechanism for prevention and response in cases of threats to the safety and lives of female and male journalists in Serbia” is implemented by ANEM in partnership with Insajder TV and the Center for the Development of Local Media, with the support of the European Union.
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