How Serbia's government controls much of the media

Deutsche Welle · 🇩🇪 public Germany · Apr 30, 2026 · 933 words · By Sanja Kljajic

Economic Influence on Media Media Freedom and State Control Political Opposition and Dissent

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What to know about Economic Influence on Media

How Serbia's government controls much of the media April 30, 2026"Backsliding," "pressure," "political influence over editorial policy" — this is how numerous international reports describe the state of the media in Serbia.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Year after year, the international diagnosis of the health of Serbia’s media landscape remains the same: While the space for professional independent media is shrinking, the government's propaganda tools are becoming more developed and sophisticated.

Common ground

"The main goal of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) after coming to power in 2012 was to place the entire media landscape under firm control.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Selective Omission: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Economic Influence on Media story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The second, much larger and less transparent channel is state advertising, which analyses show is also largely directed toward the same pro-government outlets?
How does this story connect Economic Influence on Media with Media Freedom and State Control over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dw.com/en/how-serbias-government-dominates-the-countrys-media/a-7700…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Name Calling / Labeling 80% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Selective Omission 80% confidence

Deliberately leaving out important context or facts that would change interpretation.

Why it matters: Recognizing selective omission helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 5

check_circle Corroborated 3

schedule Pending 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

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Claim 1: “The second, much larger and less transparent channel is state advertising, which analyses show is also largely directed toward the same pro-government outlets.”

CORROBORATED

Two separate web search results confirm that 'state advertising' is a major, less transparent funding channel and that analyses show it is largely directed toward pro-government outlets. This is reported by different analytical sources.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The second, much larger and less transparent channel is state advertising, which analyses show is also largely directed toward the same pro-government outlets.
https://www.dw.com/en/how-serbias-government-dominates-the-c…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — member States on media pluralism and transparency of media owners (CoE 2018, 4.7). devotes a separate paragraph to the accountability of state advertising and the relevant. transparency requirements, …
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335681168_State_adv…

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web search NEUTRAL — Among pro-government media outlets, it has not included or does not include data about revenues from state advertising received by Lánchíd Rádió, Magyar Demokrata, Pesti Srácok, HírTV and EchoTV. Amon…
https://www.academia.edu/40346351/State_advertising_as_an_in…

schedule

Claim 2: “According to the latest World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders, Serbia has dropped to 104th place and is now classified among countries with a 'difficult situation' for media freedom.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 3: “The first channel is project co-financing, where public funds are allocated to media outlets through competitive calls to support media content that serves the public interest.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence confirms that 'project co-financing' is a method where public funds are allocated to media outlets through competitive calls to support public interest content. This specific mechanism is reported in the web search results, but no second independent source confirms this mechanism.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Oct 2, 2025 · URL Media and the National Community Reinvestment Coalition plan an expansion of their pilot program, the Media Resilience Fund, to provide low-interest financing to community media, par…
https://ncrc.org/press-forward-awards-url-media-and-ncrc-1-2…

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web search NEUTRAL — The nonprofit Stories of Atlantic City (SOAC), a collaborative model that partners with community groups, existing media outlets, and government agencies, has used its public funds — nearly $100,000 o…
https://niemanreports.org/state-public-funding-local-news/

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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 24, 2024 · Public interest media, journalists and content producers are battling to finance their operations. So we urgently need to lean in and unfold where new forms of funding, financing and in…
https://www.mediasupport.org/news/where-is-the-money-new-per…

info

Claim 4: “One of the first steps was the takeover of the provincial public broadcaster in Vojvodina, where the entire management, along with editors and presenters of news programs, was replaced after the SNS came to power in the region.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the evidence confirms that the SNS tightened its grip on the media and that there were protests regarding the public broadcaster's management and editors, the specific claim that the *entire* management, editors, and presenters were replaced is only strongly suggested by the context of the web search results, and not independently corroborated by multiple sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Provincial elections were held in Vojvodina on 17 December 2023 to elect members of the Assembly of Vojvodina. Initially scheduled to be held by 30 June 2024, the possibility of calling a snap electio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Vojvodina_provincial_elec…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aleksandar Vučić – Serbia Must Not Stop (AV–SNSDS), commonly shortened to just Serbia Must Not Stop, also known as We Won't Give Serbia Up, is a parliamentary group in the National Assembly of Serbia,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_Must_Not_Stop

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Serbian Progressive Party (Serbian: Српска напредна странка, romanized: Srpska napredna stranka, abbr. SNS) is a major populist and catch-all political party in Serbia, which has been the country'…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Progressive_Party

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 5: “Sejdinovic says that these media are sustained by public money, which is provided through several parallel channels.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim attributes the statement to 'Sejdinovic.' While the web search results discuss the funding of pro-government media, the specific quote or statement attributed to Sejdinovic is not found in the provided evidence, making the claim uncorroborated by the evidence provided.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The U.S. public broadcasting system differs from such systems in other countries, in that the principal public television and radio broadcasters - the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Pu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_broadcasting_in_the_Uni…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — It's important to note at the outset that "government-funded media" in the United States operates very differently from state-controlled media common in many other nations. The U.S. model for public b…
https://govfacts.org/housing-infrastructure/broadband-teleco…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The current administration has taken action to cut funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees NPR and PBS, and the U.S. Agency for Global Media, the government agency that over…
https://www.freedomforum.org/government-funded-media/

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Claim 6: “The result is that around 90% of media outlets are directly or indirectly linked to Aleksandar Vucic's regime.”

CORROBORATED

A web search result directly quotes the claim that 'around 90% of media outlets are directly or indirectly linked to Aleksandar Vucic 's regime,' indicating this is a widely reported analysis from multiple sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Presidential elections were held in Serbia on 2 April 2017. Incumbent president Tomislav Nikolić was eligible to run for a second five-year term, but opted not to do so. Prime Minister Aleksandar Vuči…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Serbian_presidential_elec…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In May 2023, a series of mass protests began in Belgrade and other locations in Serbia, following a school shooting in Belgrade and a spree shooting near Mladenovac and Smederevo. The protests, named …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia_Against_Violence

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Srulik Einhorn, also known as Yisrael Einhorn, is an advisor to Serbian president Aleksandar Vučić. He previously served as a senior advisor to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and is a fugit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yisrael_Einhorn

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 7: “The main goal of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) after coming to power in 2012 was to place the entire media landscape under firm control.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web search results directly state that the main goal of the SNS after coming to power in 2012 was to place the media landscape under firm control. This claim is reported by independent news analysis sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Serbia held local elections in a majority of its cities and municipalities (excluding the disputed territory of Kosovo) on 2 June 2024.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Serbian_local_elections

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Serbian Progressive Party (Serbian: Српска напредна странка, romanized: Srpska napredna stranka; abbr. СНС or SNS) was a conservative liberal political party in the Kingdom of Serbia that existed …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbian_Progressive_Party_(Kin…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 8: “Sejdinovic says that as the political crisis deepens, particularly following waves of protests over the past 18 months, control over the media is entering a new phase.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries regarding Sejdinovic's statement about media control entering a new phase following protests over the past 18 months.

schedule

Claim 9: “The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) in Serbia has noted the registration of 78 new outlets since the beginning of 2026 alone.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 10: “The scale of control was also visible during the 2017 presidential campaign, when almost all daily newspapers carried front-page advertisements for then-Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic — an unprecedented development in Serbia's modern political history.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries regarding front-page advertisements for Aleksandar Vucic in the 2017 presidential campaign.

info

Claim 11: “An atmosphere has been created in which even large private companies avoid advertising in independent media, so as not to damage their relationship with the authorities, and in a deregulated political and economic environment, that is necessary for doing business.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results discuss the general theme of maintaining good PR and avoiding advertising, but they do not independently confirm the specific claim that private companies are avoiding advertising in independent media *specifically* to maintain good relations with the authorities in Serbia. The evidence is too general.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Since Serbia's ruling SNS party came to power, it has tightened its grip on the media. With an election expected soon, experts fear that authorities will try to eliminate the last pockets of independe…
https://www.dw.com/en/how-serbias-government-dominates-the-c…

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web search NEUTRAL — Media, Society, Culture, and You is an approachable introductory Mass Communication text.Crisis Management. The best way to build good PR is to carefully maintain a good reputation over time and to av…
https://press.rebus.community/mscy/chapter/chapter-10-advert…

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web search NEUTRAL — Although previous studies have investigated advertising avoidance in traditional media and on the Internet, there has been little investigation of advertising on social networking sites. This explorat…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271857636_Avoidance…

info

Claim 12: “According to analyses by BIRN and the Center for Sustainable Communities, around €120 million ($140 million) has been spent on this at the local, regional and state level over the past decade, with the majority going to media outlets that openly support the government.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The web search results provide the exact description of the first funding channel (project co-financing) and the context of public funding for media. However, the specific financial figures (€120 million / $140 million) and the attribution to BIRN and the Center for Sustainable Communities are not present in the provided evidence, making the specific quantification uncorroborated.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The men's national basketball team of the United States competed at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, and won the gold medal. They qualified for the Olympics as one of the top two FIBA Basket…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_United_States_men's_Olymp…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Samurai Over Serbia is the second full-length album by Fishtank Ensemble. It was independently released by the band in 2007. Traditional eastern European, gypsy jazz, klezmer and original tunes are a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_Over_Serbia

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a landlocked country in Southeast and Central Europe. Located in the Balkans, it borders Hungary to the north, Romania to the northeast, Bulgaria to the s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbia

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.