SĆF: In March, there were 186 verbal attacks on journalists by government officials.

At least 20 officials participated in the discrediting, criminalization, and labeling of journalists and media outlets, with the most active being:

●      National Assembly member from the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Nebojša Bakarec (69 attacks)

●      National Assembly member from the SNS Milenko Jovanov (43)

●      President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić (19)

●      Speaker of the National Assembly Ana Brnabić (18)

●      President of the SNS and advisor to the President of Serbia Miloš Vučević (12)

Other participants in the attacks included: Minister of Economy Adrijana Mesarović, Minister for European Integration Nemanja Starović, Minister of Information and Telecommunications Boris Bratina, Minister of Labor, Employment, Veterans' and Social Affairs Milica Đurđević Stamenkovski, Minister of Education Dejan Vuk Stanković, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Marko Đurić, Deputy Prime Minister of Vojvodina Sandra Božić, National Assembly member from the SNS and Chairman of the Justice Committee Uglješa Mrdić, member of the Presidency of the SNS and Deputy Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Miloš Terzić, National Assembly member and member of the SNS Main Board Aleksandar Marković, National Assembly members from the SNS Vladimir Đukanović, Biljana Pantić Prlja, Aleksandra Tomić, and Goran Milić, as well as REM spokesperson Olivera Zekić.

After critical media outlets were targeted in February with accusations of allegedly dehumanizing the President of Serbia, thereby directly contributing to the preparation of an assassination attempt on him and his family members, the trend of criminalizing media and journalists continued throughout March. Accusations from high officials that journalists prepare, promote, or incite violence were clearly observed through several coordinated campaigns and in over 50 individual attacks.

For instance, the daily newspaper Danas was subjected to systematic and targeted attacks due to an article analyzing why, contrary to the law, members of the special unit of the military police have been providing security for Miloš Vučević ten months after his mandate as Prime Minister ended.

In this context, the media was accused of "launching a campaign to revoke Vučević's security," calling for "lynching," "marking a target," "preparing an assassination," and "calling for the slaughter" of both Miloš Vučević and his family members. Miloš Vučević himself stated on the matter that "it's clear, if something happens, everyone knows who the orderer and who the organizer is," alluding to the newspaper Danas.

During the campaign for local elections in 10 municipalities and cities, on election day when journalists were brutally physically attacked, and immediately after the election day, critical journalists and media were continuously accused of having an interest in "provoking riots," conducting "organized and carefully planned terror," manipulating information, and justifying violence.

The President of Serbia went so far as to claim that some good people "become beasts under the influence of certain media." At the end of the month, due to the reporting of Nova S on the course of the civic protest in front of the Rectorate—organized after the entry of the Criminal Police Administration into the premises of this institution for a search within the investigation of the tragic death of a student at the Faculty of Philosophy—the Speaker of the National Assembly Ana Brnabić accused that portal of calling for civil war.

In March, the demonstrably false claim that the television station N1 reported on the death of a boy during protests in Valjevo in August 2025 was repeatedly spread. Olivera Zekić also participated in spreading this accusation, appearing as a representative of REM, the institution responsible for ensuring the implementation of the Law on Electronic Media. Appearing on Informer television, she stated that "there has never been a denial of that news."

Moreover, nearly two-thirds of the recorded attacks were directly aimed at media and journalists, primarily with the goal of their professional discreditation. The pattern of labeling journalists and media as traitors or mercenaries and dehumanizing them appeared in one out of every ten attacks, and there were also instances of the fascization and nazification of media.

Typically, the most frequent targets of verbal attacks were the editorial offices of television and portals N1 and Nova S, followed by the daily newspaper Danas and the weekly Radar. In one recorded attack, journalist associations UNS and NUNS were also targeted, with SNS member Milenko Jovanov telling them that "the smartest thing is to stay silent until the end of their existence." Media and individual journalists were frequently referred to as "Šolak's," "terrorist-propaganda trash," "blockading," "opposition," "tycoon-owned."

Recorded were also epithets such as "monsters," "idiots," "little Tarzans," "miserables," "lunatics," "con artists," and similar. The editorial office of TV N1 was labeled as a "sect" and "anti-talents," while certain journalists were referred to as "beasts." Critical media were attacked for fabricating lies, deceiving, employing "Nazi methods of manipulation," and "seeking revenge." The Speaker of the National Assembly Ana Brnabić accused the weekly Radar and their journalists of "killing the media scene, killing professionalism, killing morality and professional ethics."

Journalists and media workers who were most frequently targeted during March included - the authors of the show Mental Stretching Marko Stepanović and Srđan Jovanović, journalist of Danas Uglješa Bokić, as well as Branislav Šovljanski, Ivan Bjelić, Slobodan Georgiev, Dinko Gruhonjić, Žaklina Tatalović, Nenad Kulačin, and Vuk Cvijić, among others. National Assembly member from the SNS Nebojša Bakarec actively targeted the authors of the Mental Stretching show, stating on one occasion that "the mentally f**ked duo from the lunatic asylum called Nova S has proven to be worthy successors of the Ustaše." Journalist Žaklina Tatalović was labeled a "inciter of violence," while Branislav Šovljanski was accused of "not just snorting, but also blowing."

Source: Slavko Ćuruvija Foundation