Serbian students are set to rally outside the offices of Informer TV on Saturday, denouncing the station as a “propaganda tool” in the latest demonstration of a nearly five-month-long protest movement. The student-led uprising, sparked by the deadly collapse of a roof at a newly renovated train station in Novi Sad last November, has intensified opposition to President Aleksandar Vucic’s nationalist government.
“Informer has been spreading numerous lies and falsehoods for a long time,” said Bogdan Vucic, a student at the Belgrade Faculty of Political Science. He added that the tabloid and its television network have launched personal attacks against student activists, revealing private information about their families in clear violation of journalistic ethics.
Since the protests began, pro-government media have sought to discredit the movement, branding students as “foreign agents” and alleging they are funded by opposition parties and Western organizations such as USAID and billionaire philanthropist George Soros. The pro-government broadcaster Pink TV has even accused the movement of being an uprising supported by Kosovo, the breakaway territory that declared independence from Serbia in 2008.
According to Serbia’s Press Council, Informer violated the Serbian journalists’ code of ethics 647 times in 2024 alone. Many media outlets in Serbia are owned by individuals with close ties to the government, with their content often mirroring state narratives. Some, like Informer, benefit from public funding via advertising contracts with state-owned companies such as Telekom Serbia.
The situation for independent media in Serbia has become increasingly dire, with many outlets facing financial pressure and public harassment. Reporters Without Borders has highlighted the extent to which state-controlled advertising revenues dictate media survival, pushing independent outlets to the margins. Critical journalists are routinely subjected to defamation, lawsuits, and even direct attacks from government officials.
Earlier this month, students blocked the headquarters of Serbian national television (RTS) in Belgrade after one of its journalists referred to them as a “mob.” Protesters have also taken their message to rural areas, traveling on foot to counteract the influence of state-backed media.
The protest in front of Informer TV’s offices is scheduled to begin at 2:00 pm (13H00 GMT). Despite multiple requests, the station’s editor-in-chief has not responded to requests for comment.
