1.2. The rise of anti-gender movement following the Russian aggression against Ukraine

The rise of anti-gender and anti-LGBTI disinformation campaigns in the Western Balkans following Russia’s invasion against Ukraine, was a result of a joint action of pro-Russia forces^[18] supported by religious leaders. Following the same pattern, the movement against “gender ideology” in North Macedonia took on a more organized form in 2022.^[19]

On one hand, the rise of the anti-gender movement in North Macedonia is due to greater organization and visibility through the so-called Coalition for the Protection of Children, which, under the guise of “protecting children,” ran a smear campaign against “gender ideology.” On the other hand, crucial to the rise of anti-gender propaganda is the support from high-ranking dignitaries of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, who also publicly engaged in organized propaganda activities against “gender ideology”.^[20]

1.3. The Rise of the “Coalition for Child Protection”

Immediately after the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, on 3.04.2022, the NGO “Od Nas Za Nas / United We Stand Tall” announced that there was a “new face in the civil sector”, namely the “Coalition for Child Protection” (CCP).  CCP was promoted as “a newly formed partnership, through which 20 civil society organizations and associations from Macedonia are jointly advocating for ‘gender equality and family values, with an emphasis on protecting children from gender ideology in formal education, society and social life’.^[21] However, as our interviewee Bozhinoska, Program Director at H.E.R.A. states:

“…if we look at their actions and the narratives they use, under the veil of so‑called protection, care, and family, we see hate speech, violence, fake news, and attacks against all who are either marginalized or advocate for some disenfranchised groups… although these groups say comprehensive sexuality education is dangerous, they never have solutions for teenage pregnancies…Nor do they have solutions for violence, where we have an epidemic. Instead they demand to erase the terms related to comprehensive sexuality education, to abolish the Istanbul Convention—one of the most important international documents for combating violence.”[22]

Gordana Godjo, a prominent source of disinformation about vaccines,^[23] became the spokesperson for the CCP focused on anti-gender disinformation. Her NGO “Od Nas Za Nas / United We Stand Tall” is listed not only as a coalition partner, but as one of the two NGO’s that allowed the use of their bank accounts for the needs of CCP.^[24]

Gordana Godjo’s party ‘Rodina Makedonija’, which organized rallies in support of the invasion of Ukraine in front of the Russian embassy,^[25] is also a coalition partner in CCP.  In the section “what they said about the CCP”,^[26] the statement of the chairman of ‘Rodina Makedonija’ has prominent first place, before the statement of Gordana Godjo.

The CCP started with disinformation campaigns on social media mirroring the Russian disinformation narratives against “gender ideology”, that were weaponized against the West by the Putin’s military propaganda. For example, in an October 2022 propaganda post, CCP shared disinformation that “there is no longer a mother and father, but ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’”. This disinformation (spread in 2019 to discredit the anti-discrimination law)^[27] is an integral part of Russia’s propaganda arsenal as well.^[28] Putin himself was disseminating the same disinformation with the statement “while I am president, we will not have parents 1 and 2 – we will have a father and a mother.”^[29] This statement, via Russian propaganda network Sputnik, was disseminated by some of the Macedonian media.^[30]

1.4. The ‘Eleusa Foundation’ and Bishop Jakov’s demonization of “transgenderism”

Another significant anti-gender actor, which began operating in 2022, was the ‘Eleusa Foundation’, which defines itself as an “association of citizens for assistance to homeless people and socially endangered families and individuals”. This association organized several public forums in Strumica as an effective strategy for anti-gender mobilization.^[31]

At the second public forum, Godjo also appeared as a representative of the CCP. Godjo created social panic, spreading fears and numerous disinformation about sex education, while attacking not only local NGOs, but also the WHO, for promoting pornography and “pedophile sexual relationships” through sex education. Disinformation that ‘gender ideology’ and sex education have a goal to promote pedophilia was a common ground.

As one anonymous source from Strumica explains how those high-level narratives are translated into terrifying local rumors aimed at parents:

“…They were massively manipulating citizens here that, essentially, with that law and with what they call ‘so‑called gender ideologues,’ there would be forced sex‑change of children without parents’ consent… Their narrative is that we allegedly advocate against family and traditional values; that we will destroy families… And here gender equality became the most important local problem, while people’s everyday problems were pushed aside.” [32]

The narratives of the CCP at the anti-gender forum in Strumica was also promoted in the live party podcast of ‘Rodina Macedonia’ called “Rodina conversations”.^[33] During the podcast, sex education was presented as a ‘monstrous project’ and “an introduction to the Macedonian doom”. Godjo, as a guest, spread paranoia and exposed the “dangers” of introducing sex education. In the show, the West was demonized as a threat to marriage and the family (not only through the registration of same-sex marriages, but also marriages between humans and animals). Propaganda technique of satanisation (of the West) was employed through the satanisation of sex education – denigrated as an introduction to the legalization of sodomy, which was supported by “sodomites” and “Satanists”.

However, the main anti-gender star on all the forums was “Vicar Bishop Stobiski Mr. Jakov”. At the same forum where Gojo also spoke, held in March 2023, the bishop of the MOC claimed that “Gender equality is the greatest evil and the greatest danger for women”. He demonized “transgenderism” not only as a “disorder”, but also as the work of the devil, and incited hatred towards non-governmental associations and activists, stigmatizing them as enemies and “mercenaries”.^[34]

1.5. Bishop Jakov as rising anti-gender ‘media star’ inciting discrimination аnd hate

Bishop Jakov became the main spokesperson and the face of anti-gender campaign, with the help of the national media, which enabled him to spread anti-gender disinformation and inflammatory speech targeting not only ‘gender ideology’ and the Istanbul Convention,^[35] but NGO’s and pro-Western political voices supporting gender equality.

Subsequently, on the most-watched news program on TV Sitel on 22 March 2023, Jakov spread disinformation by claiming that the term “gender equality” is an unknown and disputed concept.^[36] A few weeks later, in April 2023, the most-watched national television station, once again gave Jakov Stobiski a platform to spread disinformation.^[37]

Following complaints by the LGBTQ+ organizations, the Commission for Prevention and Protection against Discrimination (CPPD) determined that Bishop Jakov had committed discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in the field of public information and the media.^[38] Specifically, it found that he seriously violated the dignity of transgender people by labeling them “as persons who suffer from a mental disorder” and equating them with pedophilia, Satanism, etc..^[39] Despite the CPPD’s recommendation that he apologize to LGBTI people, Bishop Jakov continued similar disturbing public appearances as a leader of the campaign against new legal solutions on gender equality and the civil registry.^[40] Immediately after the CPPD opinion was published, he called for a protest, portraying himself and the Church as victims and the discriminated persons as the “aggressor.” ^[41] CPPD was unable to initiate misdemeanor proceedings against Jakov Stobiski because it could not obtain his full name from the Ministry of Interior.^[42]

1.6. Demonization and Satanization of Gender Equality

Bishop Jakov Stobiski was not the only religious representative who took part in the anti-gender campaign with disinformation. In his Easter message, Metropolitan Petar of the MOC-OA warned that gender equality is a great threat – and “an even more dangerous, more disastrous, and more poisonous ideology.”^[43]

At the beginning of April, the Law on Gender Equality became the main target of a “persecution” led by representatives of the MOC-OA, who discredited it as a “demonic operation” of the Minister of Education, described as “a controlled puppet in the hands of a well-considered and demonized Western progressive.” ^[44] The same Metropolitan Agatangel later demonized “gender ideology” as a “demonic ideology”, and labeled the Secretariat for Gender Equality (envisaged by the Law on Gender Equality) as a “mental police.“^[45]

As strategic communications expert Mile Boshnjakovski explains how the demonizing metaphors have operationalized in society:

 “Gender equality is, in quotation marks, a terrifying threat to tradition, to large families, to the morality of society—which, of course, is not true. But that narrative, the anti‑gender narrative, is used and has deep influence. And the fact is that right now it dominates here.”[46]

In May 2023, the religious leaders of the MOC-OA, supported by other religious leaders, were publicly spreading disinformation about gender identity and about the Istanbul Convention. ^[47]  After it had already been announced that the Fourth Skopje Pride Parade would take place on 24 June 2023, there was a noticeable intensification of anti-gender propaganda, filled with disinformation and conspiracy theories, by representatives of the MOC-OA, further disseminated by national media. For example, in a TV Sitel segment on the so-called “Debate on Gender Equality” in Strumica, the extremist and discriminatory messages of Bishop Jakov were framed in the media as follows: “The intentions of the gender ideologues and the centers of power are evil. It is more than obvious that they are preparing a totalitarian camp in which they want to imprison not only our people, not only Macedonian society, but the entire world.”^[48]

The demonization and satanization of gender equality and transgender people, supported by the media,^[49] were part of Bishop Jakov’s mobilization strategies ^[50] for the protest organized by the MOC. They were accompanied by disinformation claiming that the draft Law on Gender Equality is an introduction to dictatorship and a totalitarian regime, and by “paranoid statements that the laws on gender equality will introduce totalitarianism, abolish marriage, cause families to fall apart, and lead to the abuse of children…”^[51]

1.7. Joint Anti-gender Mobilization of “Rodina Makedonija” and MOC-OA

The joint anti-gender mobilization in the media by representatives of the pro-Russian “Rodina Makedonija” and the MOC-OA is yet another indication of the nexus between pro-Russian political actors and religious leaders in spreading anti-Western propaganda.

Immediately before the MOC-OA protest against “gender ideology,” a member of the presidency of the party “Rodina Makedonija,” Tomche Shirkov, appeared together with a representative of the MOC-OA (Ivica Todorov) on the national TV station Alfa, in the show “For or Against”, where they jointly incited hatred against “gender ideologues” and promoted anti-Western conspiracy theories about transgender people.^[52]

The propaganda narratives with disinformation spread by “Rodina Makedonija” are akin to the Kremlin’s propaganda narratives about “threatened values” coming from the West, which is accused of indoctrination through “gender ideology.” Thus, the representative of “Rodina Makedonija” spread fears about the legalization of pedophilia and disinformation about some kind of “global criminalization of the term ‘mother’ — she is no longer a mother, she is a producer of new people.”^[53] Throughout the entire program, people were pathologized and demonized as if they were “possessed” by “gender ideology.” The representative of the pro-Russian party even suggested that the Church should deal with the “possessed” by using biblical techniques of “exorcism, that is, casting out demons.” ^[54]

In the “special broadcast” of “Rodinski razgovori” (“Gender Equality or Endangering Everything Macedonian: Gender, Nation, Society,” from 28.06.2023), Shirkov from “Rodina Makedonija” and Father Todorov from the MOC-OA continued to spread disinformation and anti-Western conspiracy theories. Shirkov also promoted the program goals of “Rodina Makedonija” for “preserving the family as the basic structural and functional unit,” accusing the West of wanting to kill not only the family as a cell, but also of “wanting to kill the Macedonian organism and Macedonianness in its entirety.”

1.8. Disinformation and demonization of ‘gender ideology’ at the MOC-led protest

The protest against gender equality organized by the MOC-OA in front of the Cathedral in Skopje on 29.06.2023 amplified ^[55] not only the voices, but also the influence of anti-gender actors in the media and in society. The use of propaganda techniques of disinformation, discrediting, and demonization was also evident at the MOC-OA protest itself.

For example, in one of the key messages from the protest by the religious leader of the MOC-OA, “gender ideology” was discredited as “one of the most totalitarian [ideologies] that humanity has seen so far”. Disinformation was spread that ‘gender ideology’ was directed against children and against women, and it was satanized as the work of “the one whom we know is the enemy from the beginning.”^[56]

The anti-gender protest organized by the MOC-OA was openly supported by pro-Russian parties in North Macedonia. For instance, the leader of the pro-Russian party “Edinstvena Makedonija” described the MOC protest as “a HAWTHORN STAKE IN THE HEART OF THE ‘BEAST’ which, through its puppets in Skopje, is destroying Macedonia and the Macedonians,” noting that “in ancient folk belief the hawthorn stake is used as an allusion to killing vampires and against vampirism.”^[57]

In its “Call” for support of the MOC-OA protest, the party “Rodina Makedonija” accuses “the junta in power” of “destroying our kin, nation, culture, and traditions” and appeals: “Let us come out in as great a number as possible and strongly show that their cultural genocide and ethnocide will not pass.”^[58] After the protest, in the show “Rodinski razgovori” on 30.06.2023, the party leader Zoran Jovanchev, in a conversation with the spokesperson of the “Coalition for Child Protection,” Gordana Godzo, boasted about the banner in the front row of the “Coalition for Child Protection” — presenting it as a party banner.^[59]

Zoran Jovanchev would later consider the blocking of the Law on Gender Equality as one of the greatest successes of “Rodina Makedonija”.^[60] The leader of the pro-Russian party “Desna,” similarly to Jovanchev, also directed harsh criticism at the MPs from VMRO-DPMNE who took part in the protest against gender equality, but who had allegedly previously supported the Law on Gender Equality in the parliamentary committees.^[61]

Unfortunately, the Macedonian media failed to recognize and expose the connections and similarities between the anti-gender propaganda in Macedonia, which culminated with the MOC-OA protest, and the Russian anti-Western propaganda against “gender ideology.”[62]

Just as in Putin’s Russia “gender ideology” is propagated as a threat to national security, so too did “Rodina Makedonija” promote “gender ideology” as a national threat to “the Macedonian organism and Macedonianness.” Just as Russia wages propaganda against “gender ideology” as a form of indoctrination, here as well “Rodina Makedonija” seeks to impose a discourse against “(trans)gender ideology” as Western indoctrination. And just as advocates of gender equality in Russia are demonized and branded as “fifth columnists,” “quislings,” and a national threat, so “Rodina Makedonija” demonizes and stigmatizes gender equality activists as “foreign mercenaries” and national enemies and traitors.^[63]

Conclusion: Mainstreaming Anti-gender narratives in North Macedonia

Anti-gender discourse in North Macedonia shifted from a marginal discourse into a more organized propaganda ecosystem after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, driven by domestic pro-Russian actors and strengthened through religious and media amplification.

This surge became most visible through the Coalition for Child Protection (CCP) and the support of high-ranking MOC-OA dignitaries, culminating in the 29 June 2023 MOC-OA protest where “gender ideology” was framed as totalitarian and satanic. Pro-Russian political anti-gender actors seized the moment to ‘import’ Kremlin anti-gender disinformation narratives and to employ propaganda techniques of demonization and satanization in order to discredit and silence pro-Western voices in North Macedonia.

—

Endnotes and References:

[1] Cf. Zharko Trajanoski, „The anti-gender movement in Macedonia and Russian propaganda“, IMA, 03.08.2023.

[2] Cf. Pendarovski: We have information that people from the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC), the business community, and the political parties are cooperating with Russian intelligence services, nezavisen.mk, 30.06.2023.

[3] Cf. Zharko Trajanoski, The Russian Military Propaganda Satanizes the Olympic Games Too, ima.mk, 10.08.2024, about Russia and its propaganda “Holy War” against “Satanism”: ‘In the official doctrine of the ROC since 2024, Putin’s “special military operation” has been declared a “Holy War”, in which Russia and its people are not presented as aggressors attacking and conquering Ukraine, but as defenders of the unique spiritual lands of Holy Russia. The aggressor Russia, in the military-church propaganda, presents itself as fulfilling the mission of the “katechon” («Удерживающего»), as a protector of the world from the pressure of globalism and from the victory of the West (caught up in “Satanism”).’

[4] See Ana Anastasovska, The Macedonian Church and its representatives as promoters of Russian and anti-Western narratives, 23.07.2025 and Vlatko Chalovski, (VIDEO) “The Next Wave” Reaches North Macedonia Too: A Report on Money and Politics in Anti-Gender Movements, 11.07.2025: “‘A few years ago, there was also the expulsion of a Russian priest precisely because of his links to anti-gender initiatives,’ says Elizabeta Bozhinovska, Program Director at HERA.

[5] Cf. Neil Datta, The Next Wave: How Religious Extremism Is Regaining Power, European Parliamentary Forum, Brussels, June 2025, p. 65 and p. 66: “Similar patterns have emerged in other Orthodox-majority countries with Moscow-linked churches. In North Macedonia, the Macedonian Orthodox Church led protests in June 2023 against gender equality and civil registration laws, with many demonstrators documented as having ties to Russian-affiliated networks”.

[6] See Introduction: The demonization of “gender” and the crisis of democracy, in Agnieszka Graff and Elżbieta Korolczuk, Anti-Gender Politics in the Populist Moment, Routledge, 2022, p. 4: “…the right has been remarkably successful in its efforts to reframe the debate: they have managed to capture the word “gender,” to redefine its meaning and demonize it, making gender equality appear like an enemy of the people.”

[7] Best Practice Forum on Gender and Digital Rights: Exploring the concept of gendered disinformation, IGF Poland, 2021, p. 21: “Gendered disinformation can be false information or based on true information that is presented in a misleading way or inauthentically amplified. Typical examples are faked or doctored content (incl. sexual images), coordinated abuse denigrating a woman’s character, caricaturization and demonisation of supporters of gender equality.”

[8] Weronika Grzebalska – Eszter Kováts – Andrea Pető, Gender As Symbolic Glue For Different Extremist Movements, impakter.com, 24.06.2020:  “It is important to note that social mobilization which is based on an opposition to ‘gender ideology’ and political correctness does not just demonize the worldview of their adversaries, and reject the human rights paradigm which has long been the object of relative consensus in Europe and North America. Instead, they offer a livable and viable alternative centered on family, nation, religious values and freedom of speech, one which is attractive because it rests on positive identification of an individual’s own choice, and one that promises a safe and secure community as a remedy to individualism and atomization.”

[9] See, „“Mila Carovska, with the blessing of our ‘royal’ government, would (re-)educate our primary school children like this.”“, rodina.org.mk, 13.12.2020: “What is actually being implemented by promoting sex education? Is it in fact about implementing the so-called ‘gender ideology’ created by the LGBTI community?”

[10] See Party announcement from 28 May, 2020.

[11] In 2021, “Rodina” also attacked the “criminal government created from outside“, accusing it of being “ideally suited to the agendas of depopulation with high mortality rates, transgender sex education and demacedonisation with the savage Northerners”. See Zharko Trajanoski, Pro-Russian political party “Rodina Makedonija” – disinformation, conspiracy theories and inciting hatred, truthmeter.mk, May 19, 2022.

[12] See, “Members of the Presidium of the political party Rodina Macedonia.”, rodina.org.mk.

[13] Statute of “Od Nas za Nas”: “The Association’s registered seat is in Skopje, at 28/36 Vich St. The decision on the registered seat is made by the Assembly.”

[14] Announcement in Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia, July 11^th, 2024, stating that “Gordana Godјo from Skopje is appointed as the person responsible for the material and financial operations of the political party Rodina Macedonia, with the abbreviated name RODINA…”

[15] See RODINA Talks, Friday 4 September 2020 – 21:30, Live with Gordana Godjo and Vladimir Trajkovski

[16] The rise of identity-based disinformation (IBD) weaponized by local and foreign actors in North Macedonia was visible during the political crisis 2015-2017, following the ‘Prespa Agreement’ in 2018-2019, following the Bulgarian blocking of the official start of EU accession talks in 2020, during the Covid crisis, and in the context of the Census in 2021.

[17] Disinformation narratives about the endangerment of the Macedonian identity, language, and people, which were used in 2018 in the context of the ‘Prespa Agreement’ and constitutional changes, were also disseminated in 2022 (related to the ‘French proposal’) and 2023 (related to the proposed constitutional amendments). Cf. The Constitutional Amendments in the Media: Disinformation, Media Manipulations and Hate Speech (analyses), Institute for Media and Analytics, Skopje, 2023.

[18] For Russian influence in anti-gender movement in Serbia and in the Western Balkans, see Angel Dimitrievski, The Anti-Gender Movement as a Threat to Democracy in the Western Balkans, ReThink. CEE Fellowship, p. 12: “Finally, the allies in the anti-gender movement in Serbia are the intellectuals who were the first to raise their voices against reforms in education (…)  as well as the various far-right groups that attach themselves to symbolic and value-oriented messaging connected to Russia and President Vladimir Putin”.

[19] Cf. ILGA-Europe and ERA. LGBTI Enlargement Review 2024. ILGA-Europe, 25 Apr. 2024, pp. 1-xx. , p. “The strength of disinformation and anti-LGBTI sentiment being spread across the Western Balkans region, particularly in … North Macedonia, has intensified even more since Russia’s war in Ukraine, with LGBTI people and civil society as targets of smear campaigns, hatred and hostility, often originating from the government level, pro-Russia forces and religious leaders.”

[20] Elena Gagovska, “Family First: The Rise of the Anti-Gender Movement in North Macedonia”, https://meduza.mk/, 24.11.2022: “In mid-October, Bishop Jakov of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (MOC), Jakov of Stobi, publicly expressed his support for Prezemi Odgovornost, warning that the ‘so-called “gender ideology” will very soon come knocking at our door.’”

[21] See COALITION FOR CHILD PROTECTION – A NEW FACE IN THE CIVIL SOCIETY SECTOR, Od Nas Za Nas / United We Stand Tall, 3.04.2023.

[22] Elizabeta Bozhinoska, Program Director at H.E.R.A., Video Interview 28 Oct 2025, 15:00, IMA studio

[23] During the COVID-19 pandemic, Godjo spread fearmongering disinformation about vaccines, and the pro-Russian “Rodina Macedonia” provided her with a video platform for further dissemination of disinformation and conspiracy theories about the pandemic and vaccination

[24] “Given that the Coalition for Child Protection does not have its own bank account, our coalition partners Od Nas za Nas and Orthodox Values approved the use of their bank accounts for the Coalition’s needs.” https://www.zadecata.org/doniraj

[25] The party “Rodina Macedonia” (which emerged from the association MIR—an acronym for “Macedonia and Russia”), on 20 January 2022 organized a protest in front of the Ukrainian Embassy against the “glorification of Nazism in Ukraine,” and after Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, it voiced open support for Putin’s “de-Nazification” of Ukraine in front of the Russian Embassy. During this period, the most prominent media spokesperson of the so-called “Coalition for Child Protection,” Gordana Godjo, shared pro-Russian disinformation on Facebook on numerous topics, some of which were labeled by the platform as “false information.”

[26] See https://www.zadecata.org/rekoa-za-koalicijata

[27] See “‘Mother’ and ‘father’ are the only parental designations in Macedonian laws”, crithink.mk

[28] See DISINFO: European Parliament bans words ‘mother’ and ‘father’, https://euvsdisinfo.eu/report/european-parliament-bans-words-mother-and-father/

[29] Putin: « As long as I am president, we won’t have parents 1 and 2 — we will have dad and mom», Feb 13, 2020

[30] See Putin: “As long as I am the president of the country, parents will be called mom and dad, not Parent No. 1 and Parent No. 2.”, markukule.mk, 13.02.2020.

[31] In October 2022 on the topic “Gender Ideology”, in March 2023 Panel discussion “Why NO for ‘sexual education’ in schools” organized by the Eleusa Foundation, Tiveriopol.mk, on 22.06.2023, called ‘The True Face of “GENDER”

[32] Anonymous interviewee from civil society in Strumica, Audio Interview, 3 Nov 2025, 12:00h.

[33] RODINA TALKS, 24.03.2023

[34] Panel discussion “Why NO for ‘sexual education’ in schools” organized by the Eleusa Foundation, Tiveriopol.mk, March 2023

[35] See TOPIC OF THE DAY With Vicar Bishop Jakov Stobiski, TV Sitel, Mar 22, 2023, “a fascist-like gender ideology, where biological women are discriminated against by what they call trans women” … “This entire gender manipulation and dictatorship stems from a document called the Istanbul Convention.”

[36] “That is why I directly contested this term, in a completely reasoned way, gender equality, because it is a notion that is unknown to us”. However, the term “gender equality” appears as early as the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, adopted in 2012 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia, No. 06 of 13/01/2012). Namely, in this law, the expression “gender equality” most often appears in the context of a “gender equality strategy,” which is adopted by the Assembly, proposed by the Government, and drafted by the Ministry of Labor and Social Policy. See Zharko Trajanoski, The media should promote gender equality instead of the anti-gender propagandists and disinformation, ima,mk, 25.07.2023.

[37] See, Vicar Bishop of Stobi Jakov, as a guest on the program #Detector on the topic “What do citizens think about the proposed laws for transgender people?” on Sitel TV,  https://www.facebook.com/tiveriopol.mk/videos/2166437300214022/

[38] https://coalition.org.mk/archives/12466 See also Opinion of CPPD 08-316/5 from 23.06.23, for “established discrimination,” in which it “DETERMINES HARASSMENT on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in the field of public information and the media, committed by [identity protected] against the LGBTI+ community.” A version of the CPPD’s Opinion without redacted data was also made public, addressed to “Jakov of Stobi, Macedonian Orthodox Church, Strumica Diocese…”.

[39] According to CPPD, he “incited further discrimination against these people and their supporters,” and he also made false health claims about transgender people. See Ljubisha Arsikj, Will Bishop Jakov Stobiski be sanctioned for harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the media against the LGBTI+ community? ima.mk, 11.11.2023.

[40] See, Zharko Trajanoski, “Is there political will to implement the Strasbourg Court’s judgment ‘X v. Macedonia’?”, ima.mk, 31.10.2023.

[41] See for example, Bishop Jakov: The Church is a target of persecution and lynching; the aggressor wants to be declared the victim., Deutsche Welle, 27.06.2023. (VIDEO) Bishop Jakov of Stobi also called, via a video address, for the MOC–OA protest against the controversial draft laws, 360 Stepeni, 28.06.2023

[42] CPPD response to IMA: “…the Ministry of Interior (MoI) continuously informs us that they cannot find that person with that first and last name and that date of birth in the system, and that we need to provide additional data. However, we have no way of obtaining those data, and the procedure has stopped there. And no misdemeanor procedure has been initiated for those reasons. We do not have the necessary data under the law to be able to initiate proceedings before a court at all.”

[43] https://arhiva.ima.mk/2023/07/27/rodovata-ednakvost-ne-e-zakana-opasnost-i-pogubna-ideologija-tuku-fundamentalno-covekovo-pravo/

[44] METROPOLITAN OF POVARDARJE AGATANGEL: The Law on Gender Equality is a new Phariseeism, and nothing else—at its core it is profound hypocrisy which, in the name of freedom, everywhere plants the sprouts of death and nonexistence!, Strumica Denes, 1.04.2023: “But it is well known to us that the goal of these demonic operations is to seize the soul of the people, to dominate and manipulate their consciousness.”

[45] See Metropolitan of Povardarje †Agatangel (Stankovski), On the Male and Female Principle, Nova Makedonija, 07.06.2023: “Then it may become possible to create a secretariat for gender equality—some kind of political bureau for morality—that would legally control word, thought, and even intention. This is precisely what is envisaged by the Law on Gender Equality that is now being proposed to us. This secretariat would be a kind of mental police that would assess and, of course, punish every thought or word that is contrary to this demonic ideology.”

[46] (Mile Boshnjakovski, strategic communications consultant, Video Interview 22 Oct 2025, 12:30, IMA studio)

[47] See Disinformation about gender identity and the Istanbul Convention : “It is absurd to blame the ratification of the Istanbul Convention for some ‘hidden imposition of gender ideology,’ when gender equality in our country has been recognized as one of the values of the constitutional order as far back as the  Strategy for Gender Equality 2013-2020“.” Also, although it was ratified in 2017, the ratification of the Istanbul Convention was included in VMRO-DPMNE’s 2020 program, which is another indication that there is a convincing political majority in favor of the ratification of the Istanbul Convention: “The ratification of the Istanbul Convention will undoubtedly contribute to strengthening the national system for the prevention of and protection against violence against women.” (p. 277)

[48] See Zharko Trajanoski, “Abuse of the media to spread discrimination and hate speech based on gender and gender identity”, 07.08.2023, “In the statements quoted in Sitel TV’s report, there is no factual support whatsoever for the frightening and entirely unfounded accusation that someone is preparing a “totalitarian camp” in which the whole world would be imprisoned. This factually unsupported claim is further amplified by branding “gender ideology” as the “primeval enemy of humanity”: “Essentially, in the background of all this ideology, this propaganda, this totalitarian movement that is subjugating the world, I see only one face—the face of the primeval enemy of humanity…”.

[49] “In several television appearances, as well as at public panel discussions, he emphasized that these people are harmful to society, while also calling them sick, satanists, and messengers of the devil.” From “The Anti-Discrimination Commission calls for a public apology from Bishop Jakov Stobiski for the offensive messages directed at the LGBTI population”, 360stepeni.mk, 26.06.2023

[50] Dragana Drndarevska “Campaigns against gender equality and LGBTI rights are an expression of religious extremism” 11.07.2023, ima.mk – Undoubtedly, we see movements for gender equality being portrayed as evil— as “satan,” “messengers of the devil” (in the words of Jakov of Stobi)—while the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP), the government, Parliament, and other institutions are continually criticized as incapable of dealing with this “evil” (accused of acting non-transparently and of implementing the agenda of LGBTI movements, etc.). In this way, a sense of urgency is created in the public, along with panic about what may follow, as an effective mobilization strategy.

[51] See Kire Vasilev, “Political narratives of hate speech and disinformation against gender equality in Macedonian media“ 18.07.2023, ima.mk

[52] “The guests claimed that transgender identity would spread like an infection and that chaos would ensue in the world—the collapse of states, a ‘complete white plague,’” one journalist described the program.” (TV Exorcism Against Gender Equality).

[53] The disinformation claim that the word “mom” would be banned was also spread by RT’s editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan: “My children won’t be able to call me ‘mom.’ And they will be taken away from me if they call me ‘mom.’ And this is really happening—it’s not propaganda; it’s happening in many places.”, – See Poligraf: Russian propaganda spreads five disinformation claims in 10 seconds. For real. 12.10.2022, ima.mk  

[54] See TV Exorcism Against Gender Equality: “People who have multiple personalities in one body—who at one moment feel like a man, the next like a woman, like a tree, like a butterfly, and want us to address them with ‘you’ (formal plural)—psychology has given up on them and leaves them to the Church, which applies prayers, and that is already exorcism, that is, driving out demons. If one body has multiple personalities, the question arises whose they are and whether they are of this world—where they come from. In that light, the whole ideology should be considered as well.”

[55] See Cvetkovikj, I. (2024). Anti-gender mobilizations in North Macedonia: A transnational tool-kit for domestic actors against gender equality and LGBTQI+ rights. Heinrich Böll Stiftung, 19 April.: “In 2023, the Macedonian Orthodox Church lent its voice to these anti-gender efforts, amplifying their influence significantly. This not only stalled the progress of two crucial laws—the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on Civil Registry (which included provisions for Legal Gender Recognition for transgender individuals)—but also cultivated a narrative portraying gender and queer activism as a national menace endangering women and children.”

[56] See STEFAN, Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, If We Endure – We Will Exist, mpc.org.mk, 29.06.2023: “Beloved faithful people: The Lord Christ Himself commands: Let the children come and do not hinder them from coming to Me, for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven. But this ideology, undoubtedly, is one of the most totalitarian humanity has ever seen, and almost like no other in history it has been directed straight against this command of Christ and against children. And if children are the future of the world, then who else would want humankind to have no future if not the one we know to be the enemy from the beginning.”

[57] Facebook Post from Janko Bachev од 30.06.2023, …with photos of party members and a banner featuring the Russian disinformation slogan: “Yes to mom and dad, not to Parent 1 and 2.”

[58] Public Call, Rodina.org.mk, 22.06.2023.

[59] See more in Zharko Trajanoski, Anti Gender Disinformation and the MOC-OA Protest, ima.mk, 11.08.2023

[60] See „“Rodina managed to win the fight against the Law on Gender Equality!”“, FB reel from “Rodina Youth“,: “As part of the Coalition for Child Protection, we stopped the Law on Gender Equality…,” which “was passing through a parliamentary commission, and the law was supported both by DPMNE members and by SDS members.”

[61] Facebook Post from Ljupcho Palevski, 30.06.2025.

[62] For example, in the same podcast dedicated to the protest against gender equality, the leader of the party “Rodina Makedonija,” Zoran Jovanchev, presented Vladimir Putin as a defender of society, of the man, the woman, the family, and God, all allegedly threatened by the West: “And Vladimir Putin amended the Russian Constitution in order to cement the position of the man, the woman, the family, and God, seeing what force is coming this way, defending society.”

[63] All of this aligns with the political objective of “Rodina Macedonia,” which as early as September 2022 launched a petition for membership in the Eurasian Economic Union and BRICS, encouraging Macedonians “to leave the humiliating, dehumanized GMO, transgender, LGBT, Euro-Atlantic world…”. (Zharko Trajanoski, The Anti Gender Movement in Macedonia and the Russian Propaganda, ima.mk, 03.08.2023)

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This article was developed in partnership with the regional initiative Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub, implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation with financial support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The contents of the article are the responsibility of IMA, Skopje and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the project partners and donor.