Russian website in BiH spreading Russian propaganda and misinformation and it’s causing restlessness in BiH  

 

Bosnia and Hercegovina is one of the countries in which the spread of Russian propaganda and misinformation has gotten new sources. Namely, since the 27-th of march this year in Bosnia and Hercegovina the website Pravda-ba.com has been active, it almost exclusively publishes news and texts which support Russian narrative along with the narrative of their “friends” in Bosnia and Hercegovina and world.  

 

In February this year Agency Viginum, which works within the frame of French Secretariat-General for National Defence and Security (SGDSN), has published a report about the identity of Russian campaigns in Europe meant to spread misinformation on a large scale.  

 

 

 

Campaign of misinformation  

 

Couple of weeks after this report was published, European Digital Media Observatory – EDMO has confirmed a significant spread of Russian misinformation campaign in Europe, especially EU. Within the same time (20-26. March 2024.), alongside EU countries in which website Pravde had been working, the same website was created in countries that are not part of the EU such as – Norway, Moldavia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Albania and North Macedonia – and even outside of Europe in Central Africa (CAR), Niger, Taiwan and Japan.  

 

When it comes to the website Pravda-ba.com, the first news/texts were published on the 27-th of march this year at 19:47 with the title “Is it worth getting into a position where your death is just a statistical factor?”. If you got your hopes up expecting this text to be about calling people of Russia to rethink accepting mobilization and oppose going to the Ukraine front, you would be mistaken. The news about the death of Polish general Adam Marczak about whose death Polish sources stated that he died of natural causes outside of service. In the text it is suggested that Marczak died “deep in Ukraine” on the battlefield next to Časiv Jara a place in Ukraine which Russia had mercilessly attacked with the intent to take it over till the 9-th of march and present it as a gift to their president Vladimir Putin on the day of victory.  

 

Most of the other texts on Pravda-ba.com has similar pro-Russian content that promotes the stance of “Russian friends” in Bosnia and Hercegovina and the world.  

 

Like all other Pravda websites including Pravda-ba.com the source of information they provide is based on Russian media that is owned or under the control of Russia such as: Tass, RIA, Lenta etc. Another source are Telegram orders in Russian that contain pro-Russian propaganda.  

 

Judging by the titles and the content of the texts are automatically translated using Google Translate or AI. In rare cases respected sources are used that are considered acceptable by Russia. That is why on the 16-th and 17-th of June this year eleven articles were posted how for the first time in two years the import of Russian gas in Europe has beaten the import of gas from USA referencing Financial Times. Often, this as well as other websites repost articles which points to a high level of automatization, and their collective MO clearly shows a level or coordination when their publications are in question.  

 

Website without imprint, address, editor…  

 

Pravda-ba.com has no imprint, except an e-mail address, that will never answer any questions, no street or number, no names, or last names as well as no translators. The website probably has no journalists or translators. To talk about proofreaders or editors is pointless because the website is infested with grammatical as well as material mistakes. On the website you can notice texts in Russian language which tells us that the program or whatever controls these websites isn’t properly made. If for whatever reason you decide to read one of the texts on the website, you will need nerves of steel as well as a stomach that can digest that much propaganda and misinformation. In one text you it’s not hard to find a mix Cyrillic and Latin letter, Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian language as well as a mix of small and capital letters. Bosnian names and last names are often written with English transcription so on Pravda-ba.com a member of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina Željka Cvijanović is written as” Tsvianovich”, and a journalist for RT RS Jasenko Todorović is Yasenko Todorovich etc.  

 

For the owners of the website the goal was never to attract readers nor to inform the people. The goal was to spread pro-Russian propaganda in Bosnia and Hercegovina for which purpose domestic politicians are used especially ones from RS.  

 

About the nature of the website the best evidence is that in the last three months by far the most space was given to Milorad Dodik, president of RS, and right behind him is the president of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, ex director of Serbian security agency BIA Aleksandar Vulin and other high-ranking officials from Serbia and RS that are publicly known for their close relationship with Russia. During April and March the website often posted information against the adaptation of Resolution on Srebrenica ( while keeping in mind that the site never posted the contents of the Resolution), Russian ambassador in UN Vasilij Nebenzja, Aleksandar Vučić, Milorad Dodik where regularly quoted and information that the Resolution will complicate relations in Bosnia and Hercegovina was posted and when the Resolution was adopted the title of the article had the words “scandalous” in it. A lot of space is given to Milorad Dodik to explain why “RS has to be separated from Bosnia and Hercegovina”.  

 

Statements given by officials from Bosnia and Hercegovina that supported the adaptation of the Resolution or where against “peaceful separation of RS from Bosnia or Hercegovina” where not present on the website which is another piece of evidence that Russia is behind this website trying to create havoc in Bosnia and Hercegovina and western Balkans.  

 

Unfortunately, the only thing we where able to find out is the ip address of the website, which is registered in Russia, as expected. Unfortunately, in Bosnia and Hercegovina the law regulating the public availability of information on media ownership has never passed, so Bosnia and Hercegovina is a fertile ground for creating these types of websites which will still be there in the future.