Autor: Mishyac – Vlastito djelo, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=154815491
November 2024.
As part of the program Regional Initiative to Combat Disinformation “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Watchdog Journalism”, we present you a new monthly analyses of fake news and disinformation narratives.
On November 1, 2024, a catastrophic accident occurred at the railway station in Novi Sad. In the collapse of the canopy at the reconstructed station, fifteen people lost their lives, and two others were seriously injured and remain in critical condition.
The situation in Serbia in the past few weeks has been marked by a wide wave of reactions and the confrontation with the aftermath of this unprecedented disaster at a public facility, which, according to reports, had undergone a comprehensive reconstruction in the period preceding the incident. The wave of protests began on November 5 in Novi Sad, with what observers have estimated to be one of the largest gatherings in the city’s history, demanding criminal and political accountability for the canopy’s collapse.
Protests spread to other cities across Serbia, accompanied by regular symbolic traffic blockades for fifteen minutes, in tribute to the fifteen victims. The government’s response—denying responsibility for the Novi Sad accident and its usual attempts to discredit the protesters’ demands, as well as issuing criticisms and threats—had a “snowball effect,” increasing the number of people who joined in expressing dissatisfaction. Since the end of November, social protests, initially calling for the prosecution of all those responsible for the accident, gained new momentum with the start of student blockades at university faculties.
In a very short period, students from all faculties at the four largest state universities began blocking buildings, making concrete demands to relevant institutions, primarily the Serbian government, prosecutors, and courts, for the clarification of all circumstances surrounding the reconstruction of the railway station and the canopy collapse in Novi Sad, the determination of criminal responsibility, and the punishment of those who attacked students and protesters. The student engagement, as the leaders of the social protests, created the greatest social pressure on the regime since its rise to power in 2012. The political crisis, which has been ongoing since November, has been deepened by the rhetoric and actions of the ruling party and its supporters, reflected in the reporting by influential pro-government media.
Chronology
At 11:52 a.m. on November 1, the canopy at the reconstructed railway station in Novi Sad collapsed. Later that evening, government officials announced that fourteen people had lost their lives, while three others with severe injuries were transported to a clinical center.
In their statements, high-ranking officials sent contradictory messages, notably insisting that the canopy was not part of the station’s reconstruction project. They emphasized that potential political responsibility would be determined, although initially, no government or local officials had resigned.
It was only after several days, on November 4, under intense public pressure, that the Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure Goran Vesić resigned from the Serbian government. The next day, one of the largest protests in Novi Sad’s history took place, with an estimated 20,000 people attending. After presenting demands to the relevant institutions, the protesters organized a march, which led to a minor incident outside the headquarters of the ruling party and other incidents near the City Hall in Novi Sad. It remains unclear whether the protesters or potential hooligans linked to the regime played a role in these incidents.
A few days later, opposition political parties organized another, smaller protest in Belgrade, repeating the previously stated demands. Meanwhile, starting in Novi Sad on November 15 and spreading to other cities across Serbia, fifteen-minute traffic blockades called “Stop Serbia” were held between 11:52 a.m. and 12:07 p.m. to honor the victims of the accident.
The blockades, led by opposition leaders, continued in front of the relevant prosecutor’s office and court in Novi Sad for three consecutive days, from November 19 to 21, insisting on the prosecution of those responsible for the tragedy. Finally, on November 21, the Novi Sad prosecutor’s office issued an order for the detention of 12 people associated with the reconstruction of the railway station and canopy, including former Minister of Construction Goran Vesić. They were all detained, although Vesić’s detention was later revoked, and some individuals were placed under house arrest. The investigative process to establish criminal responsibility continued, but at this point, there is no indication of when formal charges will be filed. According to available information, human errors occurred during the station’s reconstruction and oversight of the work.
The resignation of several officials and the detention of those responsible for the works at the Novi Sad railway station did not stop the actions of citizens and opposition political parties. A series of incidents in which government supporters were involved escalated when, on November 22, students from the University of Belgrade were attacked during a highway blockade. On the same day, the Faculty of Dramatic Arts declared a blockade, calling on other faculties to join. Over the course of several weeks, students from nearly sixty faculties at Serbia’s four largest state universities—in Belgrade, Novi Sad, Niš, and Kragujevac—began blockading, despite government pressure. They formulated demands related to determining responsibility for the Novi Sad accident, prosecuting those responsible for attacking students and protesters, and rejecting charges against students who participated in the protests.
In their public statements, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and other government officials continuously downplayed the government’s responsibility, rejected the demands of the initial protests and the subsequent student protests, and verbally insulted opposition parties and protesters. In the reporting of pro-government media, as well as some pro-Russian media, during November, the responsibility for the Novi Sad accident was rarely addressed, while attempts to relativize it were made. On the other hand, anti-opposition narratives were actively promoted, accusing protesters of exploiting the tragedy and inciting violent actions, destabilizing Serbia.
How did the media report on the Novi Sad accident and the subsequent protests and blockades?
Pro-government media sensationalized and inappropriately reported on the fatalities in Novi Sad, the funerals, and the reactions of families and friends, often violating media codes. Statements from the highest government officials were also transmitted, downplaying responsibility by contradictorily stating that the canopy was not part of the reconstruction project, which followed earlier reports from independent media about insufficiently professional execution and corruption scandals.
Additionally, some pro-government media promoted the narrative that such accidents happen worldwide, emphasizing that there was no specific responsibility for the Serbian authorities. A notable article from the Alo portal stated that “building collapses and infrastructure failures are not rare around the world… tragedies like the one in Novi Sad happen globally.”
With the onset of protests by citizens and opposition parties, calling for an investigation and/or assuming responsibility, pro-government media focused on discrediting them. The most influential pro-government tabloid, Informer, led this reporting. Informer highlighted that the “dead are once again being exploited politically,” comparing the protests to those that followed last year’s school shooting in Belgrade. According to Informer, “opposition parties are doing the same as after ‘Ribnikar’… trying to capitalize on the tragedy,” while stating that “people went out in solidarity (for protests), but then it turned into politics.” Bombastic headlines such as “They argued about who will exploit the tragedy first” and “The goal is to stop construction and Expo – opposition admits it aims to exploit the tragedy in Novi Sad” demonstrate the narrative direction of Informer.
In the context of the protests that began in Novi Sad on November 5, the same media emphasized that “the opposition could hardly wait to start scavenging… the proven recipe of violence and blockades has not changed even now… the opposition was devising a plan to use this tragedy and collect some political points for themselves.” The insistence of pro-government media on the alleged political abuse of protests after tragedies is already a tried-and-true reporting template aimed at weakening pressure and disputing the legitimate demands of citizens. Informer has tendentiously tried to present the gatherings as exclusively violent and “destructive,” claiming that citizens were “called to be disobedient… with the message that violence is the only solution for them,” and, in the context of the damage to the City Hall in Novi Sad during the protests, scandalously drawing parallels with the Taliban “who destroyed cultural heritage.” Additionally, on the pages of the pro-government tabloid, participants in the protests were suggestively linked to countries from the region and “other foreign centers,” implying foreign interests in the destabilization of Serbia, which is also an established reporting tactic.
Other media outlets wrote in a similar manner about the growing citizen activity. For example, Republika, a portal from the tabloid Srpski Telegraf, emphasized that “anti-Serbian opposition is receiving instructions from the same centers of power… that benefit from the destabilization of Serbia.” Republika deliberately misinterpreted the demands of social protests as an “attempt to violently seize power… (seeking) power without elections.” When information became available suggesting corrupt practices in the reconstruction of the railway station, Alo shifted the focus to claim that opposition representatives had connected the accident to lithium mining, corruption, and everything else they could think of, calling for some kind of rebellion “to make political profit.”
The Novi Sad protests and the incidents that occurred were clearly at the forefront of critical reporting by pro-government media throughout November. Večernje novosti also intensively reported on the allegedly “shameful scenes of violence in Novi Sad,” attempting with this “spin” to “blunt” the edge of demands and the justified civic pressure on the regime. Novosti reported that “attempts to destabilize the country and seize power in Serbia through violent means, destruction of state property, and desecration of the tricolor will not go unpunished,” and included statements that attributed intentions to “violent protesters… who want to destroy Serbia and would most like to see a fratricidal war begin.”
Another narrative “spin” promoted during November, in the context of the causes and consequences of the tragedy in Novi Sad, involved defending government officials from the actions of the prosecution under the alleged dictate of demonstrators, the opposition, and independent media. Pro-government media sharply criticized certain activities of the Novi Sad prosecution – Večernje novosti questioned why the opposition-leaning Nova.rs was the first to publish details of the investigation against a suspect, claiming that “only the anti-Serb portal from Belgrade was provided with details… (and that) Nova.rs is the media of the prosecution, so only they receive the information.” Republika questioned the prosecution’s activities in the investigation as being coerced under pressure from the opposition, activists, and the “violent” blockades of that institution.
Once again, Informer “set the pace,” emphasizing highly debatable and factually unsubstantiated claims that the “scandalous decisions of the Novi Sad prosecution to arrest former minister Goran Vesić (and others) were a consequence of the terrifying pressure from the opposition and oligarchic media.” The messaging continued with assertions that “the judiciary has been hijacked” and that “inexplicable decisions about arrests were influenced by extremely violent, anti-Serb opposition figures from Belgrade,” accompanied by comments from their sources stating that “the prosecution does not arrest (those) who block people’s access to courts or the prosecution, who prevent people from exercising their rights,” referring to the opposition and demonstrators.
With the onset of student blockades at several universities in the days leading up to the end of November, which were soon supported by students from certain high schools in Novi Sad and Belgrade, pro-government media continued with their previous narratives and practices of labeling these actions as “oppositional” and “politically exploited,” deliberately ignoring the fact that they were part of much broader social protests.
When it comes to the reporting of pro-Russian media in the country, which are traditionally supportive of the Serbian government on domestic political matters, Sputnik Serbia in November adhered more strictly to factual reporting on the gatherings and reactions to them. On the other hand, the local service of the Russian state media Russia Today published various analyses on the protests of citizens and the opposition and the potential political exploitation, following the narratives of pro-government media.
RT posed the question, “who is trying to kidnap the people’s dissatisfaction with violence due to the tragedy,” and quoted statements emphasizing that “scavenging on human tragedy should not be used for anyone’s promotion.” RT highlighted that “regional media have wholeheartedly opened space for the pro-European part of the Serbian opposition, and external pressures have been joined by internal pressure… from activists in the NGO sector on the streets,” while also noting that the tragedy in Novi Sad was being used (in part) to destabilize Serbia.
Despite this, the narrative of pro-regime media about all protests and demands directed at the authorities, which has been recognizable for years, the fact remains that legitimate and justified pressure from citizens of all walks of life is increasing. Students, by formulating concrete demands, blocking almost all state universities in the country, and attracting a large wave of solidarity, have taken the leading role in the protests. Since the beginning of December, these protests have become among the largest in Serbia’s history, surpassing political affiliations and the government-opposition divide.
Author: Igor Mrosavljević
