SĆF: 108 verbal attacks in September 2026.

The highest number of attacks was recorded in statements and announcements by Aleksandar Vučić and the former member of parliament from the SNS party Nebojša Bakarec – each with 30.

Following them are:

• Vladimir Đukanović, former member of parliament from the SNS party (17)
• Milenko Jovanov, former member of parliament and president of the SNS parliamentary group (14)
• Ana Brnabić, former president of the National Assembly and current acting president of Serbia (9)

Among the attackers were also SNS president Miloš Vučević, the mayor of Belgrade Aleksandar Šapić, the president of the Provincial Government Maja Gojković, as well as the Serbian Progressive Party itself in official statements and announcements.

More than two-thirds of the attacks were directed at media outlets recently taken over by the Portuguese fund Alpac Capital: N1, Nova, Danas, and Radar. In addition to them, targets included BIRN, local Ozon press, Radio-Television of Serbia, and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).

Among individual journalists and media authors, Tanja Aleksić and Žaklina Tatalović from N1, as well as Zoran Kesić, author of the show "24 Minutes," which was canceled on TV Nova in September after changes in the management of this media outlet, were most frequently attacked.

Over one-third of the recorded verbal attacks on media and journalists in September (35%) were related to the upcoming elections.

Government representatives included media and journalists in their confrontations with the so-called "blockaders," opponents of the current regime, and main rivals in the elections – the candidates of the Student List – portraying them as actors allegedly supporting the student movement, collaborating with it, and contributing to the spread of hatred, violence, and divisions in society.

Thus, former member of parliament Milenko Jovanov, speaking about various incidents, stated that N1 reporters "incite" violence and target individuals who are then attacked by the "blockaders."

“That is their job. They are not media; they are active participants in the political life of Serbia and they are aggressive, prone to terrorist methods,” Jovanov said.

Aleksandar Vučić, inviting the first candidate of the Student List Ilija Srdanović to a TV duel, also stated that the duel could take place “at their bosses’ at N1 and Nova S.”

Vučić has repeatedly linked N1 and Nova S with alleged attempts to destabilize Serbia. Speaking about the protests, he said that the demonstrators were “led by both N1 and Nova S and foreign services directly in an attempt to overthrow their own state and confront their own people.” He also reiterated his earlier claim that “billions of euros have been invested from the 'outside' into 'agent media' to work on the overthrow of Serbia,” alluding specifically to the activities of N1 and Nova.

Another significant reason for the attacks was Ana Brnabić's appearance, a high-ranking SNS official and current acting president of Serbia, on N1 television, in a debate with Mirjana Nikolić, a candidate from the Student List.

This debate led to 13 attacks on host Tanja Aleksić. Brnabić accused N1 in the show of participating in the “criminalization and dehumanization” of Aleksandar Vučić and his family for years.

Vladimir Đukanović stated after the show that it was “a pleasure to watch” how Brnabić “mopped the floor” with the host and her interlocutor.

The foundation also recorded a new form of intimidation against journalists in September, in which, while still president of the republic, he publicly displayed a printed photograph of the badges belonging to N1 journalists Žaklina Tatalović taken from the inside of her bag at the entrance to the Presidential building during a press conference. The photograph was shown in response to a journalist's question. (For details, see Top #5 below in the article)

The fact that the badges she had in her bag were taken, photographed, printed, and prepared for public display just before the conference indicates that the discrediting of N1 journalist was prepared regardless of whether she would ask anything at the event.

Zoran Kesić, the author of the show "24 Minutes," was also targeted by officials, which was canceled on TV Nova in September after changes in the management of media outlets that were recently part of the United Group. The attacks were related to professional discreditation, mockery, cynicism, and gloating over the cancellation of the show.

Nebojša Bakarec wrote, among other things, that Kesić received a “kick card” and that “Kesić's nonsense” cost half a million euros, with the message: "You will be cleaning the streets." Milenko Jovanov, in the context of news about the cancellation of "24 Minutes," posted excerpts from domestic films alluding to poverty and financial crisis.

These cases cannot be viewed merely as reactions to the business decisions of the new owner of United Group media, but as part of a broader context of years-long attacks on these editorial offices and their journalists, which is why the SĆF monitors them in this report.

This month we also recorded an apology for targeting a journalist. Ana Brnabić initially posted a tendentiously edited video with representatives of the Student List and journalist from FoNet Miloš Milić, whose statement was transmitted incompletely and out of context. Following the reaction from the Journalists' Association of Serbia, which described the publication of that video as “a dangerous attempt to discredit a journalist,” Brnabić apologized to Milić “if he felt in any way targeted or offended,” stating that it “was not her intention.”

Aleksandar Vučić

My message to you is: I know that you beat them in Užice and Veternik - they asked for it, they provoked - and in Šid and Apatin, do not beat them anymore. (...) You know you are bigger, you know you are stronger, do not ride them, do not beat them, do not wrap them in tar. Not a single thing of what they threatened us with. I want to show the difference. (...) These are our misguided brothers and sisters, led by both N1 and Nova S and foreign services directly to the overthrow of their own state and confrontation with their own people.

*Part of a speech at the pre-election rally of the "United Serbia" list, which Vučić leads, regarding the conflicts between supporters and opponents of the government

Ana Brnabić

Yes, since 2017 I have not been on N1. To be honest, I was not particularly happy to come to N1 now, considering how much your television has dealt with the dehumanization of my president, my friend (...) Aleksandar Vučić and his family in the last ten years and in what way. (...) This time I came because Aleksandar Vučić insisted: you changed the owner, I do not see much change in the editorial policy. But he said, “Let’s give it a chance.” Here we gave a chance, for people to see how objective and impartial you are.

*From the debate program on TV N1 where Ana Brnabić was a guest

Milenko Jovanov

It is brutal propaganda that must send a message at all costs that nothing is right in Serbia and that it spreads hatred in every possible way and incites hatred against Aleksandar Vučić personally and all those who politically disagree with what they want. And they have been doing this for 14 years now. There is nothing they haven’t said about Aleksandar Vučić in the past 14 years. (...) These are people on a mission, (...) who engage in propaganda in the way that propagandists did in another time, in other regimes. N1, Nova S, Danas, Vreme, Radar, and all those others involved function in exactly the same way today.

Serbian Progressive Party

The SNS informs citizens that we had the opportunity to see again this evening in the Dnevnik 2 of RTS that this television remains an extended arm of the attempts at a colored revolution in Serbia. We call on Radio-Television of Serbia to promptly inform the public who ordered them to interrupt Aleksandar Vučić's speech in Dnevnik 2 and we ask the editorial board of what should be a public service for all citizens who censored Aleksandar Vučić's speech and made the decision that it should not be heard that the plan of the blockader list is to rape and ride women who support Aleksandar Vučić's policy.

*Reaction to the interruption of Aleksandar Vučić's connection from New York in Dnevnik 2 on RTS. The public service stated that the interruption was due to a technical malfunction and aired the entire interview that same evening.

Monitoring period:

September 1, 2026 – September 30, 2026.

Monitoring sample:
- The portals of three tabloids that most frequently violate the Code of Journalists of Serbia: Informer, Alo, and Republika (source: Press Council)

- Official accounts on social media of public officials known for frequently targeting journalists: Aleksandar Vučić, Ana Brnabić, Miloš Vučević, Vladimir Đukanović, Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, Milenko Jovanov, Nebojša Bakarec, Zoran Tomić, and Boris Bratina

- Media appearances of state officials and SNS functionaries

- Parliamentary sessions

- Appearances and addresses of the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić

- Reports from the portal Cenzolovka.rs, a specialized media for issues on media freedoms and the status of journalists in Serbia

Monitoring focus:
The focus of the monitoring is on the verbal attacks of state officials on critical journalists and media, in order to establish the responsibility of the state leadership for endangering their safety and creating a hostile atmosphere in which they operate.

“Attack”: any form of pressure, labeling, discrediting, belittling, dehumanization, or criminalization of a critical journalist or media.