This periodical media monitoring report is produced within the Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub project, which debunks the chief propaganda claims that deny the existence or minimize the importance of disinformation related to foreign malign influences in the region, documenting and responding to disinformation instances, narratives, and trends aimed at disrupting democratic development. This report, covering the period of the third quarter of 2023, is based on the analysis of input by six project partners in combination with insights from journalistic and analytical articles, taking into consideration the wider context and complementary research results by other reputable organizations or institutions relevant to the region. It forms a long-lasting public record as a basis for creating a data-driven early warning infrastructure for disinformation threats and potential harm.
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During the period from July to September 2023, authoritarian foreign actors and their domestic proxies or allies continued to disseminate disinformation in all six Western Balkans countries, aiming to destabilize democratically elected governments, disrupt the functioning of institutions, increase polarization, and deepen national, ethnic, religious, and other divides. They sought to increase tensions by provoking fear, outrage, and anger among the populations, resulting in a rise in Euroscepticism. Alongside the continuous exploitation of the political situation and incidents, these actors also attempted to enhance endemic anti-Western sentiments present in certain groups and abused controversial societal topics, such as gender issues, to spread their influence under the guise of defending traditional values.
The NATO alliance leaders’ meeting in Vilnius gave the Kremlin an excuse for fierce reactions. Extreme disinformation narratives such as “Russia will attack NATO” and “Ukraine will never become a member” were aimed at scaring the Western Balkans countries and instilling fear of Russian power. These narratives are commonly propagated by Russian state media while preemptively placing most of the blame on NATO with the narrative that “NATO could have prevented the war if it did not give Kiev weapons.”
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