Who is sending threats to the media? The Progressives, students who want to learn, and influencers have distanced themselves.

The email is signed by the "Organization of Students Who Want to Learn," and it is stated that this is an official letter from them and the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). Both students close to the Progressives and the ruling party itself claim that this is a lie and that they do not stand behind it. Alleged associates of Meta, three of whom Raskrikavanje interviewed, also assert that it is a lie and that they are unclear about how they became involved in this story, and who is misusing their names to threaten and intimidate the media in Serbia.

The email titled "Warning Before Criminal Charges" was sent yesterday to several editorial offices, including Ozon Press from Čačak, Ist Media from Bor, Bujanovačke from Bujanovac, Šabačke Novosti, as well as N1, from an "outlook" account named after an informal student organization close to the SNS.

It is stated that this is a joint official letter supported by the SNS.

The document threatens the media that if they continue with "offensive comments regarding Mr. President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, the SNS, and our organization", criminal and civil proceedings will be initiated for defamation, which is not a criminal offense in Serbia (editor's note), and for spreading false information.

What are these false pieces of information? It is unclear, as the sender of this email did not specify which texts or by whom they refer to: all media received the same general warning text. Besides the lack of clarity about what they are even discussing, they also claim that they will report these media to REM, although this body is not responsible for the operation of internet portals.

The absurdities do not end there: the media is warned that processes will be initiated against them "before international platforms," including Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. They allegedly will be assisted by their "advisors" Aleksandar Leštarić, Danica Manojlović, and Luka Lekić, whose Instagram accounts were mentioned in the statement.

All three claim to Raskrikavanje that they have no connection to this bizarre story and that they are unsure how they became involved. Leštarić, who is better known as Cile ST, the owner of the YouTube channel "Serbian Tutorials," emphasizes that he is not only disconnected from the Students Who Want to Learn but also from politics in general.

"I really don't know why we were chosen, and I wonder. Neither I, nor Danica, nor Luka have any connection, nor are we Meta associates. It's pure fabrication,” says Leštarić, who has over 170,000 followers on Instagram and whose channel is followed by those interested in technology, reviews of computer equipment, and gaming.

The same is said by Luka Lekić and Danica Manojlović, who are also active on social media. What connects the three of them is their engagement with IT topics in the broadest sense, and such an audience primarily follows them, but according to their statements, that’s where the connections end.

This is not the first time Lekić and Danica Manojlović have been associated with Meta.

In February of this year, the Instagram account of Jelena Karleuša was suspended after the organization Eko Straža organized a petition to shut down the account of this singer due to "targeting individuals, spreading hatred, and promoting propaganda in favor of the Serbian autocrat Aleksandar Vučić."

After that, Eko Straža received an email from an alleged Meta employee, Ljuban Kovačević, claiming that Manojlović and Lekić were working for this company to restore Karleuša's account. They denied this at the time, as did Meta.

However, in March, a similar incident occurred. KTV television received an email, supposedly from "Students Who Want to Learn," warning them not to send reporter Nemanju Šarovića "to our locations." Otherwise, as stated, threats were made to alert Meta through Lekić, Leštarić, and Danica Manojlović.

Even then, they denied all of this, but they began to receive insults and threats from those who believed that the three were assisting the SNS authorities.

"That was the worst time. They wrote to me that I was a 'cackling whore,' that they would wait for my daughter, and they insulted me,” states Manojlović. She suspects they encountered these false statements because someone assumed that they wouldn’t protest or react, and yet – they are known to the younger audience on Instagram, so their names in the statement lend credibility to the whole affair.

The misuse of their identities has continued up to this latest case, but we were unable to find out who is behind it. Both the organization "Students Who Want to Learn" and the SNS have denied any connection to the sender of this email.

"The mentioned content of the document is a lie and represents a gross forgery. We ask you to disregard any content that does not come from the Party and that was not sent from our official emails and communication channels,” state the SNS for Raskrikavanje.

We also received a response from Luka Lalošević, alongside Miloš Pavlović, one of the prominent figures of the organization "Students Who Want to Learn."

"The email you mentioned does not belong to us, nor have we ever sent similar emails warning journalists about anything. This is an obvious misuse of our identity, which is why we are considering filing criminal charges,” says Lalošević, adding that they have no connections with Meta.

Moreover, this is the first time both the Serbian Progressive Party and "Students Who Want to Learn" deny being behind the letters being sent in their name for months.

So far, everyone we spoke to is only contemplating addressing state institutions regarding the misuse of their names, which would likely find it relatively easy to determine who is behind the "outlook" email threatening the media.

Given the entire atmosphere in society, some journalists would not be surprised if something like this were to come from the ruling party.

"This all seems like Serbian affairs to me. I don't fully trust these denials; it all comes from a common kitchen. Their story is in vain; no one is falling for those provocations,” states Stojan Marković, editor of Ozon Press.

Source: Raskrikavanje