"This report examines advertising spending and practices in Serbia and Bulgaria, two Balkan states at a critical junction between European democracy and authoritarianism. Analysis of advertising data shows that major global brands are spending hundreds of millions of euros on advertising with outlet ... s in the Balkans that spread disinformation on topics including: Kremlin narratives linked to the invasion of Ukraine; malign government propaganda; attacks on civil society, independent media, and political opposition; and narratives undermining democratic values. Advertising serves as the leading source of revenue for media companies globally. In the Balkans, government control over the media is a growing issue and advertising revenues from global brands could offer a lifeline to independent outlets which do not receive government support. However, this report finds that current advertising practices often prioritise outlets that are highly sympathetic to the government spreading disinformation, exacerbating existing problems. This report finds that this issue is particularly acute in Serbia, an EU accession candidate and, according to the European Parliament, the launchpad of Russian disinformation in the region. In 2022, 64% of advertising spending in the country came from global brands. This report shines a light on how commonplace disinformation is across the country’s mainstream media. Two of the most popular national Serbian TV stations – TV Pink and TV Happy – regularly propagate the unfounded claim that “Russia was forced” into conducting a “special military operation” in Ukraine and likened NATO to an “apocalyptic group of anti-Russian crusaders.” These stations collectively receive over half of the country’s total advertising expenditure. In Bulgaria, an EU member state, disinformation narratives are found to be less common in broadcast media but widely spread online in digital media. This includes some of the country’s most popular news websites, which regularly promote pro-Kremlin disinformation, claiming that NATO is using Ukraine to fight Russia, that Bulgaria will be forced to join the conflict, and that Ukrainian refugees are exploiting host countries." (Executive summary, page 4) more

"Our main findings show that, numerically, disinformation overpowers the news. More precisely, this study identified 559 different types of disinformation cases in 494 news items disseminated in 14 (out of 15 analysed) Serbian news media. Our study found that false, misleading and manipulative infor ... mation occupy a significant portion of news in some of the analysed media. Online editions of tabloids Alo and Kurir account for more than half of all the news containing disinformation. They are followed by two printed dailies Vecernje novosti and Informer. Among the TV channels with national coverage, TV Pink more frequently disseminated disinformation than other news media. Central news of the public broadcaster Radio-television of Serbia 1 (RTS 1) had the fewest disinformation." (https://crta.rs/en/report-mapping-disinformation-in-the-serbian-media) more

"The topic of the war in Ukraine dominated the media during the first three months of the war and completely marginalized all other topics. The most foreign actor reported on most in the media was Russia, while the countries of the West, the US, the EU, and NATO were far less noticeable. Although th ... e initial open support for Russia has softened since the beginning of the war, the media continue to report in favour of Russia, and against the West. Television stations with national coverage (especially their morning news programmes), as well as parts of the daily press, are at the forefront of supporting Russia. Internet portals have a more balanced approach. Among state officials, President Vucic has monopolized the discussions of the war in Ukraine, and he is the person most credited in the media for establishing Serbia's neutral stance on this issue. Disinformation in the media is placed in such a way as to present Russia in a positive light, and the West negatively. Disinformation was most prevalent on internet portals and the printed edition of Vecernje novosti, the daily Informer, and television stations Pink and Happy." (Key findings) more