Serbia as a key 'target' of the Russian disinformation campaign in the Western Balkans

Serbia has emerged as a key target of the Russian disinformation campaign among the Western Balkan countries, according to research by the Center for Information, Democracy and Citizenship (CIDC) at the American University in Bulgaria.

"The concentration of disinformation in Serbia is 6.3 times higher than the average in the European Union countries," the authors of the study, Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob and Georgi Angelov, explained to Radio Free Europe (RFE).

The Center for Information, Democracy and Citizenship at the American University in Bulgaria analyzed more than 640,000 articles published on the websites of the "Pravda" network in 45 countries between December 2024 and March 2025.

According to the Center, this is a network for spreading disinformation related to Russia.

In terms of the number of published articles in relation to the population, Serbia ranked fourth among all countries included in the research, after Moldova, Latvia and Estonia.

Top 15 countries by number of publications of the Pravda network of sites in relation to the number of inhabitants

Analysis of 643,600 articles published on the Pravda network in 45 countries from December 2024 to March 2025.

"Serbia is vulnerable and a target of disinformation for a number of reasons. These include historical ties with Russia, deep internal contradictions, and problems with media freedom and media control," research co-author Georgi Angelov explained in a written response to RFE/RL.

Jacob Udo-Udo Jacob says one of the reasons lies in the fact that Serbia did not impose sanctions on Russia after its aggression in Ukraine.

"Serbia hosts a strong pro-Kremlin media presence, has a delayed path to joining the European Union, and has geopolitical influence over Kosovo," Jacob says.

By analyzing 643,600 articles published on Pravda network websites in 45 countries from December 2024 to March this year, the Center for Information, Democracy and Citizenship determined that more than half (52 percent) of the content was intended for former Soviet republics and Balkan states.

Russian media sanctioned in the EU, welcome in Serbia

In Serbia, which has not imposed sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Russian media outlets that publish content in the Serbian language operate freely.

Russia's annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea was followed in 2015 by the opening of a Sputnik editorial office in Serbia. This media outlet operates within the framework of the international news agency Rossiya Segodnya (Russia Today), which is funded by the Russian authorities.

Serbia is also the only country in the Western Balkans where the Russian state-owned media outlet RT (formerly Russia Today) also operates. It was founded in Serbia in November 2022, eight months after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

RT, as a Kremlin-controlled media outlet financed from the state budget, has been banned from broadcasting in the European Union since March 2022.

It has been designated as key to the spread of Russian propaganda and is the target of a broad package of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Sever: 'Europe is turning its back' on developments in Serbia

Maja Sever, president of the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), said in a statement to RFE/RL that the "flood of disinformation and pressure" in Serbia is "frightening".

"The Russians have their own interests and that is why they have clearly invested both resources and strength in spreading disinformation in Serbia. Only free and professional journalism is responsible," she said.

Sever points out that in terms of the spread of Russian disinformation in Serbia, but also in terms of pressure on free and independent media, there is "absolutely no" more decisive reaction from the European Union, with which Serbia began accession negotiations in 2014.

She points out that last week, as part of the Media Freedom Rapid Response Mission in Serbia, she and colleagues from other international organizations in Serbia conveyed to the representative of the EU Delegation in Belgrade that the EU's lack of reaction was "unacceptable".

"Our main message from the three-day visit, both publicly and in meetings, was that Europe is turning a blind eye and seems to not see what is happening here and that it should not be done like that," Sever told RFE/RL.

She stated that within the mission, they asked the representatives of the EU Delegation in Belgrade to freeze the EU negotiations with Serbia on Chapter 23, which concerns human rights and civil and media freedoms.

Serbia has been experiencing a decline in freedom of speech and media freedoms for years, as pointed out by numerous international organizations, such as Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Amnesty International.

Improving media freedom in Serbia is one of the recommendations in the latest report of the European Commission on Serbia's progress on its European path.

What is the Pravda network?

The Pravda network emerged when Russian state media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik were banned across the European Union following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the study found.

By early 2025, it had become a "global disinformation ecosystem" comprising some 190 sites in 83 countries, broadcasting Russian propaganda in dozens of other languages.

"Pravda is the hub of several disinformation networks linked to the Russian state. These networks spread narratives that create anti-European and anti-Western sentiments," says Georgi Angelov, co-author of the study.

He adds that the Pravda network is increasing social and ethnic tensions in the targeted regions and that only those countries that do not have open conflicts and unresolved problems with their neighbors will have access to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Democratic reforms are also among the key conditions for Euro-Atlantic integration.

The importance of Radio Free Europe

Jacob and Angelov also pointed out in their research the importance of Radio Free Europe as "the main voice of democracy in the region" and "a key counterweight" to Russian propaganda, assessing that the US administration's decision to suspend funding for RFE/RL is a "strategic mistake" at a time when the Kremlin is intensifying its disinformation campaign.

Georgi Angelov says that during his 20 years of journalistic experience, he worked for Radio Free Europe for a time. He considers the media outlet "the only source of reliable information in many regions".

"The void that would be created by the closure of RFE/RL will be filled with disinformation, and 'Pravda' is ready for it. This will further weaken democracy in the countries where RFE/RL journalists work," Angelov assessed.

An executive order signed by US President Donald Trump on March 15 reduced the scope of the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM), the body that oversees RFE/RL.

According to Jacob, the decision “weakens independent journalism in fragile media ecosystems and creates a vacuum that can easily be exploited by Russian state-linked media outlets.”

“Without RFE/RL, Russian narratives face little credible resistance, which also undermines American soft power and democratic messaging,” Jacob concludes.

Hours after Trump signed the executive order in mid-March, USAGM announced that it was cutting off funding that Congress had allocated to Radio Free Europe for the 2025 budget year.

RFE considers the move illegal, and has filed a lawsuit against USAGM in a US court.