January 2025.
As part of the program Regional Initiative for combating disinformation “Western Balkans Combatting disinformation Center: Exposing malicious influences through fact-checking and Analytical Journalism“, we present you a new analysis of fake news and disinformation narratives.
Slovakia and Serbia under attack, Hungary next in line! Colored Revolutions as a “remedy” for freedom-loving countries
https://informer.rs/politika/vesti/983130/slovacka-srbija-obojena-revolucija
The statement by Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico that the opposition in Slovakia is preparing a Maidan and occupying government buildings, and that a “colored revolution” is underway in the country, has served pro-government tabloids to draw parallels with the ongoing student protests in Serbia.
Tens of thousands of citizens gathered at the end of January to protest against the pro-Russian policies of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico. People across the country are dissatisfied with the nationalist policies and ties to Russia. Prime Minister Fico accused the demonstrators of attempting a coup.
As reported by Informer, the situation in Slovakia shares many similarities with the current events in Serbia, with commentators noting both the similarities and differences with the “pre-planned agenda” of colored revolutions.
“In Slovakia and Serbia, operations are taking place that Western ideologues desperately need… they need a victory before the crucial elections in Germany in a month, to present themselves as a force in relation to the inevitable return to traditional values in many European countries,” said a source to Informer, adding that children and youth in Serbia are being exploited.
It is further stated that the West has prepared colored revolutions as a “remedy” for the leaders of “freedom-loving countries.” “It is obvious that anyone who thinks freely, stands by their politics, their country, and is willing to say it openly to everyone, bothers them. There are Fico, Orban, Lukashenko, Vucic… Against such leaders, the West has prepared colored revolutions as a ‘remedy’,” the source told Informer.
Informer‘s article, in which it is stated that colored revolutions are an attempt to break “freedom-loving countries” like Serbia and Slovakia, was also covered by the daily newspaper Alo. Večernje Novosti reported in a similar tone on the protests in Slovakia, noting that the protests in both Serbia and Slovakia follow the same principle of colored revolutions.
Narratives about colored revolutions have appeared for several years now during every anti-regime protest in Serbia. These narratives were also present during the “Serbia Against Violence” protests, which government representatives regularly described as an attempt to violently seize power from abroad, despite never offering any evidence for this, as is the case today.
The comparison between the protests in Serbia and Slovakia is an information manipulation aimed at denying and minimizing any internal reasons for which citizens are protesting. At the same time, as the “organization” is solely attributed to Western countries, they deepen and strengthen existing anti-Western narratives in the public to achieve domestic political goals.
Author: Sofija Popović
