Apart from obscure portals, Russian propaganda is also spread by RTCG

POBJEDA
The success of Russian disinformation campaigns in Montenegro is visible, and although it is a member of NATO and perceived as the next member of the European Union, it has shown a low degree of resistance to foreign interference, especially from Russia and Serbia, while the narratives, apart from obscure portals, are also spread by the Public Service - the conclusions are the comparative studies of the Digital Forensic Center "Mechanisms for combating disinformation".
The reason for this, as stated in the study that was presented yesterday in Podgorica, is primarily that Montenegro lacks political will and institutional action in the fight against foreign interference and manipulation of information.
An additional challenge is the action of political elites who continuously relativize or ignore the problem of foreign influence, and certain political structures in power in Montenegro are themselves part of the channels of influence of third parties.
The DFC study states that the repetition of narratives through the media is a clear indicator of the influence of disinformation, and that the Kremlin has developed a wide network of propaganda channels in the Western Balkans. In addition to the two state media Sputnik Srbija and RT (Russia Today) Balkan, Russian propaganda is also spread by Belgrade tabloids and some local media from Montenegro, among which the most prominent are the obscure portals IN4S, Borba and Aloonline.me, which continuously download and spread Russian disinformation. narratives.
But the reworking of the Kremlin's narrative through media not directly connected to Moscow is a clear indicator of influence, because they are accepted as legitimate or credible enough to be reproduced in those media.
RTCG AS A RUSSIAN PROXY
An illustrative example of such activity is the Radio and Television of Montenegro (RTCG), which has repeatedly spread pro-Russian narratives and misinformation, according to the study.
The RTCG portal takes information from Russian media sources without critical review. Thus, in January 2022, that portal announced that Ukrainians attacked the Luhansk Republic, legitimizing in the text the secession of the pro-Russian self-proclaimed National Republic of Luhansk.
The study cites an example when the editor of the foreign policy newsroom of Radio Montenegro, Slaviša Đorđević, in the program Jutro on TV Prva, assessed the conflict in Ukraine as a proxy war between two great empires, Russia and the USA, which spills over into the European space.
In addition, Radio Montenegro journalist Sanjin Vešović questioned the Resolution passed in the Montenegrin parliament condemning Russia's attack on Ukraine in the Link show, emphasizing the economic unprofitability of imposing sanctions on Russia.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, one of the key narratives used by Russia in the Balkans is the issue of Kosovo's independence, and the manipulations related to the NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999 stand out in particular.
Thus, the 25th anniversary of the NATO intervention in the FRY was the reason for the intensification of the comprehensive anti-Western and anti-NATO campaign. The key manipulations within that campaign related to the name of the operation and the number of victims of the NATO intervention.
So it was announced in Dnevnik RTCG on March 24, 2024, on the occasion of the anniversary of the NATO intervention, that the victims of the bombing numbered in the thousands. On the same day, the show "People and Events" on RTCG spread misinformation that the NATO campaign was called "Merciful Angel", and that more than 1,000 people were killed and several thousand wounded in airstrikes.
However, the official name of the air operation of NATO forces is "Operation Allied Force". The author of the phrase Merciful Angel is still unknown, but it is assumed that it was created in Serbia for easier mobilization to fight against NATO.
When it comes to victims, the only exact data in the public domain are those established and published by the Humanitarian Law Fund from Belgrade and the Kosovo Humanitarian Law Fund, which show that in the period from March 24 to June 10, 1999, lives were lost 756 people, of which 452 civilians and 304 soldiers or policemen.
In addition to these examples, during the presentation, representatives of the DFC also showed a slide with a collage of titles published on the RTCG portal with titles that feed Russian narratives, to which the illegal General Director of the Public Service Boris Raonic reacted, saying that he had checked with his colleagues from that media , and that they told him that the news was not from Russian sources, but from the Anatolia and Beta agencies.
When DFC analyst Marko Banović explained to him that this is exactly what is meant when it comes to processing the Kremlin's narrative through media that are not directly connected to Moscow, and that the original sources of that information are Russian media, Raonic reacted unexpectedly.
He invited the DFC to come to RTCG to train editors on how to check sources of information, essentially admitting that the current editors in the Public Service either do not know the basics of journalism, or that even after almost three years at the head of the largest media company in the country, Raonic is not the clearest what kind of profession is it?
THE INFLUENCE OF SERBIA
Serbia has significant influence in the media space of Montenegro through media ownership, and the interest of companies from Serbia that buy Montenegrin media is not of a financial nature, but their goal is to achieve a certain influence, according to the study.
- Foreign entities, predominantly Serbian, by purchasing media in Montenegro, influencing the editorial policy, control the information that is distributed. The media in Montenegro are also significantly influenced by domestic political structures and actors who use them to shape public opinion in accordance with their political agenda and narrow-party needs and interests - say the DFC.
An additional challenge is the fact that the information space of Montenegro is not determined by national borders, but due to the absence of a language barrier, extends to the region.
Apart from the fact that, as such, they represent a serious threat to the sustainability of the Montenegrin media, a significant number of them are recognized as the main source of disinformation in Montenegro. Tabloids and television stations from Serbia dominate the list of media leading the way in disseminating misinformation and hate speech.
- This is supported by the data from the DFC research, that during the four years of monitoring, the most read media from Serbia in Montenegro published 41,178 articles about Montenegro, which were mostly of questionable quality - the Study states.
In addition to the Serbian media, as they say in the DFC, the soft power of Serbia and Russia is also reflected through aggressive propaganda that is carried out through media that are not originally Serbian or Russian, but follow their agenda.
- Such media in Montenegro distribute misinformation and fake news, but also narratives as more subtle forms of manipulation, which are much more dangerous because they are not easily recognizable .Also, local political elites use disinformation and narratives to strengthen their position and/or eliminate political opponents, the study says.
The success of the Russian disinformation campaign
Montenegro is continuously exposed to Russian propaganda and manipulations that spread through various channels that include: political parties, local and regional media, religious organizations and extreme right-wing groups.
The goal of Russian disinformation campaigns in the Western Balkans region, including in Montenegro, is to undermine institutions, deepen social polarization and stop European integration, according to the DFC study.
When it comes to Montenegro, a survey published in January 2024 showed that 42.7 percent of citizens believe that Russia is leading the fight against Nazism in Ukraine, and about a quarter (27.6 percent) do not know whether this is true or false. .
Although 80 percent of Montenegrin citizens support Montenegro's membership in the EU, at the same time 53.8 percent of them believe that the EU and Western countries actively promote changes in traditional values ​​and impose deviant behavior.
A survey by the agency DeFacto, which included only young people in Montenegro, showed that 33.6 percent of young people believe that the United States of America is responsible for the war in Ukraine, while 27.1 percent answered that Russia is to blame for it, while 16.8 percent sees Ukraine as the culprit of the war.
The report of the Secretary General of NATO from March 2024 indicates that 44 percent of Montenegrin citizens would vote to leave the Alliance, which is 12 percent more than the data from last year's report.
Key narratives of manipulation
The targets of narratives in the Montenegrin media are various ethnic or religious groups, political and ideological opponents, civil activists, fighters for human rights, international actors such as the EU, NATO, USA.
According to the DFC, the placement of such content intensifies in the pre-election period and when some important political decisions are adopted or issues that disintegrate society are raised, as was the case during Montenegro's accession to NATO or the adoption of the Law on Freedom of Religion.
In the DFC study, there are five key narratives that are placed in the Montenegrin media space, of which the one about the threat of Serbia is the longest-lasting.
- The narrative about the threat of Serbia has been abused for 30 years as a basis for Serbia's direct interference in the internal affairs of neighboring countries. Narratives are being circulated that the Serbian people and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro are discriminated against, and that Serbs in Montenegro are disenfranchised - the study states.
The second most common narrative is the one about the supposed return of tradition, i.e. traditional Montenegro, which is used to distance Montenegro from the West and Western values. As an alternative, Serbia and Russia are offered, which should lead Montenegro on the right path. In fact, it is a narrative that in its essence denies Montenegrin separate identity, and is based on emphasizing the traditional spirituality of Montenegrin society and the collapse, allegedly, of the historical Serbian character of Montenegro.
The third narrative in the DFC study was named after a coin issued by one of the leaders of the former Democratic Front, Milan Knežević - Ambassador of Montenegro.
It is about the fact that Montenegro is not a sovereign state, but that Western embassies and foreign power centers regulate the internal and foreign policy of Montenegro, and it is one of the key Russian and Serbian disinformation narratives.
The fourth is a narrative about two nationalisms in Montenegro, which the Vijesti concern has been building for years.
- The narrative about Montenegrin nationalism is used to relativize Serbian nationalism in the country, to deal with political dissenters, but also to promote certain political structures that are presented to the public as a center between two ethno-national extremes - the study states.
The fifth most common narrative, according to the DFC study, is the relativization of malignant foreign influence.
- A big problem in Montenegro is the marketing of narratives that try to relativize the issue of foreign influence. Those who relativize the malignant influence try to equate the concern about the interference of an external factor with nationalism and extremism - it is written in the DFC study