Year after year international reports paint the same picture of Serbia’s media: independent professional outlets are shrinking while government propaganda tools grow more developed and sophisticated. Reports describe “backsliding,” “pressure” and “political influence over editorial policy.”
Journalist and media analyst Nedim Sejdinovic says the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), after coming to power at the national level in 2012, pursued a clear goal: to place the entire media landscape under firm control. The model was simple and systematic: outlets that cooperated with the authorities received financial and institutional support; those that refused faced economic and political isolation.
Takeover of local and provincial outlets
One early step was taking over the provincial public broadcaster in Vojvodina: management, editors and news presenters were replaced after the SNS gained regional power. Important elements of the media strategy also included the purchase of outlets, particularly at the local level, by people linked to the ruling elite—relatives of ministers or business tycoons. Sejdinovic estimates that around 90% of media outlets are directly or indirectly tied to President Aleksandar Vucic’s regime.
The role of public funding
These pro-government media are sustained by public money routed through several channels. First is project co-financing: public funds allocated via competitive calls to support media content framed as serving the public interest. Analyses by watchdogs such as BIRN and the Center for Sustainable Communities estimate roughly €120 million has been spent on this across local, regional and state levels over the past decade, with the lion’s share going to outlets openly backing the government.
A second, larger and less transparent channel is state advertising, which evidence suggests is also disproportionately directed to pro-government outlets. Third is market pressure: an atmosphere has been created in which private companies avoid advertising in independent media for fear of damaging relations with the authorities in a deregulated political and economic environment.
Blurring journalism and propaganda
Under these conditions the line between journalism and propaganda is increasingly blurred. Critical voices are delegitimized and demonized; scandals are reported without context and presented through the government’s framing. President Vucic is a constant presence on air—his addresses are often broadcast live, interrupting regular TV and radio programs, and party rallies are aired simultaneously across national, regional and local stations. Viewers switching channels frequently encounter the same content and message.
The scale of control was visible in 2017 when almost all daily newspapers ran front-page advertisements for then-Prime Minister Vucic, an unprecedented phenomenon in Serbia’s recent history. The opposition rarely appears in routine reporting; dissenting voices are often labeled “traitors,” “foreign mercenaries” or “enemies of the state.” Targeting and discrediting government opponents has become routine.
From loyalists to “super-loyalists”
As political tensions have risen—particularly after waves of protests over the past 18 months—Sejdinovic says media control has entered a new phase. SNS loyalists are increasingly being replaced by what he calls “super-loyalists.” Previously some pro-government outlets confined themselves to positive coverage or ignoring criticism; now the aim is to turn all media into blunt political weapons that spread blatant lies, defame people, use crude language and deepen societal divisions.
New outlets and a propaganda machinery
This strategy is reflected in the rapid registration of new outlets: the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) reported 78 new registrations since the start of 2026. ANEM’s Bojan Cvejic describes many of these outlets as machinery for spreading government propaganda—unsigned, near-identical texts that resemble pamphlets more than journalism and are used to campaign against critics.
Serbia drops in the rankings
Reporters Without Borders places Serbia 104th in its World Press Freedom Index, classifying it among countries with a “difficult situation” for media freedom. The overall environment for journalists continues to deteriorate, marked by rising political pressure, shrinking media pluralism and worsening conditions for independent reporting.
Political problem with political solution
President Vucic is expected to call a parliamentary election possibly between June and the end of the year. Sejdinovic warns the situation could worsen, with a likely next phase of intensified pressure on the digital sphere following patterns seen in other authoritarian systems. He concludes that media freedom in Serbia is fundamentally a political problem that is hard to resolve without a change of government, because this government, by its nature, opposes professional journalism.
Edited by: Aingeal Flanagan