Institute for Media and Diversity: Escalation of Hate Speech in the Media Due to Political Crisis (ANEM)

The current study examines how hate speech increased in Serbian media after the Novi Sad canopy collapse, which set off a political crisis. The analysis, which is based on 102 occurrences that were documented between January 2024 and July 2025, identifies public authorities and media outlets as the main providers of hate narratives, with the most common targets being women and political opponents. The lexicon and sophistication of hate speech have increased, increasingly fusing political, racial, and gender prejudice. Threats against journalists have increased, including threats of death, and ongoing transgressions of media norms have been made possible by regulatory inaction. The results, which were given at a regional summit, highlight how urgently the Western Balkans require institutional change and safeguards.

https://anem.org.rs/en/strane/institut-za-medije-i-razlicitosti-eskalacija-govora-mrznje-u-medijima-usled-politicke-krize