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Serbia is the only country in the European Union (EU) zone – the Balkans – that journalists have had to leave for reasons related to their work. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the EU to stop turning a blind eye to media freedom in this EU candidate country.

Long-time journalist of "Politika" and vice president of the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), Olivera Milošević, has been dismissed from this daily newspaper.

In Serbia, the systematic destruction of a journalist's reputation has surpassed even an authoritarian scenario. In version 2.0, the assault on his character is a dangerous, acrobatic scenario at the gates of the European Union, while Brussels looks the other way. The Independent Association of Journalists of Serbia (NUNS) and the Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS), members of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), have repeatedly expressed concern over threats to journalist Veran Matić and demanded that his safety be guaranteed.

Now the regime, unless some miracle occurs, will have four television stations with national licenses, hundreds of local ones, all national newspapers and radio stations, an army of bots on social media, and a few popular portals. For information, we have Facebook, Instagram, and a bit of TikTok, plus a few still active investigative or local media outlets. So, if someone wants to congratulate...

The owner of Alpak Capital, Pedro Vargas Santos David, was officially registered yesterday as the director of all independent media of ANN, a member of the United Group in Serbia. As can be seen in the Business Registers Agency, the decision regarding the appointment of the owner of Alpak Capital was adopted on August 17, 2026.

The expansion of the propaganda network, targeting, and unprofessional journalism at the local level - this could briefly characterize the recent takeover or establishment of local media in Serbia, predominantly by two main media figures of the current regime - Saša Blagojević and Dragan J. Vučićević. In this regard, as Veran Matić explains for N1, "the offensive continues," and the message is clear: "We can do anything, and no one can stop us."

Seventy-one open cases of attacks on journalists in the first six months of the year and only one finalized case, according to data provided by ANEM, indicate almost complete impunity. At the same time, journalists are facing physical attacks, targeting, threats, financial pressures, and attempts to exclude professional media from the public space. "The state is against us," comments Veran Matić, President of the Board of ANEM and member of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists, for Mašina.

Out of 159 announced competitions for project co-financing of media content in Serbia, 153 have been completed. In four cases, the legal deadline for making decisions on the allocation of funds has expired, and the process is still ongoing for two competitions that were announced later.

The Special Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crime has received reports of new threats involving hanging, public execution, and sacrifice directed at journalist Veran Matić. He told N1 that he has reported about ten threats since the beginning of the year, but none have been resolved.