Campaigns

December 2023

A report by BFMI found that advertising revenues from major North American and European brands are funding and legitimising media outlets that disseminate disinformation on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Kosovo and other divisive issues in the Balkans.
Based on the findings from this report, BFMI, alongside 15 Members of the European Parliament, called on big brands named in the report to examine their advertising chains and withdraw funding from outlets that spread disinformation.
Read about our Letter

Read our Report
BFMI gained responses from several companies and shed light on the dangers of opaque advertising chains.

BFMI continues to engage with companies and legislators to call for increased scrutiny on advertising and its connection to disinformation. Already, Lidl has halted advertising with Serbian outlets Happy TV and Pink TV at the end of 2023.

March 2022

In countries such as Serbia where traditional media are largely under the control of the state, social media are the last remaining lifeline for independent journalists and voices in the Balkans. Ahead of the 2022 Serbian presidential and parliamentary elections, BFMI alongside 23 policymakers and media experts called on Meta to take urgent steps to prevent abuse of their platforms and tackle the spread of disinformation in the region. Meta’s current approach to removing false, misleading and inflammatory content is inadequate. The Balkans may represent a small and complex market, but its importance to regional stability should not be underestimated.
Read our letter to Meta.
Our campaign prompted a response from Nicholas Clegg, Meta’s President of Global Affairs.
BFMI continues to engage with senior policy executives, which has already led to two individuals who were found promoting pro-Russian accounts in Bulgaria to be removed as moderators by Meta.
Read Meta’s Reply.

August 2021

According to media reports, state-owned media enterprise Telekom Srbija offered €600 million to the Premier League for broadcasting rights — ten times the annual amount paid by the existing holder. Buying these sports rights is part of the government’s efforts to destroy independent media: if you show the best games, people switch to your channels and, critically, watch your news. BFMI urged Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters to take into account media freedom considerations in the allocation of sports broadcasting rights.
Read our letter to the Premier League Chief Executive, Richard Masters
The Premier League leadership failed to take action to promote media freedom in Serbia. In October 2023, BFMI found that Telekom Srbija broadcasted incendiary messages praising Serbian paramilitary fighters involved in the attack against Kosovo Police in Banjska. This was showcased during football matches on Telekom Srbija's Arena Sport channel. BFMI continues to monitor the situation and brief stakeholders, from both the political and sports arenas, on this issue.

June 2021

In light of reports that Euronews entered partnerships with two entities that stand against free media — in Bulgaria, with an arms dealer targeted by international sanctions, and in Serbia, with the state-owned Telekom Srbija, a tool of President Vucic’s to control information — BFMI called on public broadcasters and the European Commission to re-evaluate their relationship with the outlet. These partners do not operate in line with the strong editorial standards expected from public service broadcasters, nor do they reflect European values. The European Commission has paid more than €100 of taxpayer money to Euronews.
Read our letter to 20 public service broadcasters, including France Télévisions, Italy’s RAI and Ireland’s RTE, to review their relationship with Euronews following the company’s decision to enter problematic partnerships in Bulgaria and Serbia
BFMI received a response from both the European Commission and Euronews.
The European Commission has since committed to review output from Euronews Serbia and Bulgaria for evidence of undue influence. BFMI will submit a report ahead of the deal’s renewal with the partners in 2024.

February 2023

BFMI has campaigned to raise awareness of the role of Kremlin-disinformation and pro-Russian media in Serbia in fostering tensions in Kosovo. The European Union must take action to ensure that Vucic’s propaganda machine does not create another conflict in the region.
The declining media environment in the Balkans plays a key role in rising tensions between ethnic Serbs and the ethnic Albanian-led government in Kosovo, which is now having a serious impact on the security situation. Against this backdrop, BFMI brought together experts from Kosovo and Serbia, as well as international civil society organisations, to share insights and define networks for collaboration to counter disinformation and misinformation in the region and reduce tensions.
Read our findings.
BFMI Director Antoinette Nikolova on Euractiv: Russian disinformation threatens breakout of conflict in Kosovo.
BFMI has conducted several briefings at the European Union, raising awareness of the role of social media channels and Serbian media outlets in promoting hate speech in Kosovo in the European Parliament Resolution of October 19th on the recent developments in the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue.
Our work has featured on internatonal media coverage of the situation in Kosovo, including Financial Times, Euractiv, British Forces Broadcasting Services and Handelsblatt.