Penalties against Vucic propaganda broadcasts on Informer and Prva in Serbia

This Wednesday there were bizarre scenes in the Serbian capital Belgrade. The interim president, Ana Brnabic, stands angrily in a protesting crowd in front of the building of the Electronic Media Supervisory Authority (REM). She presents herself as a fighter for freedom of the press.

"I stand up for media freedom here. No matter which medium they would shut down, I would always be here. Today they are shutting down media freedom in Serbia. Next, freedom of expression will be shut down and then people will no longer be allowed to think for themselves. Is that democracy? Is that the rule of law! No, it is the terror of the Student List," the Serbian president says into a camera.

Ana Brnabic was the supporter of the authoritarian ruler Aleksandar Vucic for around ten years. She filled high positions for him. She has been a minister, prime minister, speaker of parliament and now interim president. Brnabic helped Vucic bring over 90 percent of the Serbian media under his control.

"Medial darkness"

Independent experts often speak of a “media darkness” in Serbia and a “Vucic propaganda machine.” Now Brnabic is upset because a media supervisory authority is taking action against two Vucic propaganda stations for the first time.

The meeting of the "Electronic Media Regulatory Authority - REM" will be streamed on the Internet. Under Aleksandar Vucic's rule, this body was never independent and never took action against state hijacking of the media apparatus. But this Wednesday it's different.

The businessman and head of the tabloid media and TV station Informer, Dragan Vucicevic, must answer to the committee. He is considered Vucic's fiercest propagandist and is a controversial figure in Serbia. In his TV program he described representatives of the student protest movement as "terrorists", "fascists" and "faggots".

Informer as propaganda broadcaster Vucic

Informer is notorious for its many conspiracy theories and fake news. Now Dragan Vucicevic is defending himself against the threat of punishment before the media supervisory board and is doing it quite theatrically. Vucicevic comes into the meeting and immediately starts screaming.

"Hello! Where am I sitting? I have lawyers with me, where should they sit? There's not enough space! What's the point of our cameras not being allowed to film here? So you've decided that you want to cut off our heads. You want to judge us. You want to shut us down. Shame on you! Look me in the eyes," Vucicevic shouts loudly to the group.

What follows is a good hour full of insults from the Informer boss. But the members of the media supervisory board refuse to be intimidated and remain calm. In the end, they unanimously decided to impose a penalty on the TV station Informer. He is no longer allowed to broadcast his morning show “Prve info” for seven days. The reason given is that a presenter violated the period of silence in Serbia immediately before the election and influenced the viewers with her own political opinion.

Rather mild punishment

Rade Djuric from the independent Serbian journalists' association NUNS welcomed the decision on the independent Serbian television station N1: "This is about one of the most important segments for a functioning legal system in Serbia. The media supervisory authority, which must be absolutely independent, has decided on the first measure against a propaganda medium that has sowed hatred and misinformed citizens," says Djuric.

"And I hope that this measure was just the beginning. Because it is a mild punishment. We expect it to continue," said Djuric. The media supervisory authority REM explained that the penalty should be extended to other broadcast formats within Informer TV. In addition, another TV station loyal to Vucic was punished. Prva is not allowed to broadcast its news program "Vesti" for one day and its morning program "Jutarnji program" for five days.

It is still unclear whether Serbia will have an orderly media landscape in which journalistic standards prevail instead of propaganda. The work of the new government of the Student List will also be crucial. But the formation of a government could take a few more months.