Report on Monitoring Compliance with the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics in Daily Newspapers in the Period from July 1 to December 31, 2025

The report on monitoring compliance with the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics in daily newspapers for the period from July 1 to December 31, 2025, was presented on January 22, 2026, at a discussion held at the Press Center of the Journalists’ Association of Serbia, organized by the Press Council.

Nine national print media committed 7,346 violations of the Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics in 4,506 articles from the beginning of July to the end of December 2025, which is about 10 percent more compared to the same period in 2024, according to the Code compliance monitoring conducted by the Press Council for the eleventh time. The newspapers with the most violations in published articles were Alo, Informer, and Kurir, while Danas and Nova had the fewest. The most frequently violated chapters of the Code were those related to truth in reporting, respect for and protection of privacy, and journalist responsibility. This is the first time the monitoring has been done according to the new Serbian Journalists’ Code of Ethics, which was adopted in December 2024.

The monitoring results were presented by journalist Bojan Cvejić and journalist Vera Didanović, who monitored newspaper reporting for six months, while the Secretary General of the Press Council, Gordana Novaković, spoke about the work of the Complaints Commission.

The Press Council monitoring included a content analysis of nine print media with national coverage – Alo, Blic, Danas, Večernje novosti, Informer, Kurir, Politika, Nova, and Srpski telegraf.

The top two places, according to the number of violations of ethical and professional standards, were held, just like last year, by Alo (2,004 violations in 1,205 articles) and Informer (1,456 violations in 837 articles), while this time Kurir came in third with 1,318 violations in 811 articles. They are followed by Srpski Telegraf (with 668 articles), Večernje novosti (456), Politika (190), Blic (182), while the Danas newspaper again recorded the fewest deviations from the Code this year with 40 such articles, and Nova newspaper with 117.

The author of the report, Bojan Cvejić, stated at the discussion that almost all newspapers saw an increase in the number of violations compared to the previous monitoring.

“Exceptions are Srpski Telegraf, which is at last year’s level, and Blic is the only one that significantly reduced the number of contents not in line with ethical and professional standards. The Danas newspaper, although it had the fewest violations, this time recorded almost twice as many violations as it had before,” said Bojan Cvejić.

As he stated, in 2025, there were 396 more violations recorded compared to 2024, and the average monthly number of violations was 751, which is the highest since 2021.

“The most violations were made within the first chapter (Truth in Reporting), 3,898. In second place is the chapter concerning privacy, mostly related to revealing the identity of suspects and victims in articles in ‘crime chronicles,’ of which there were 1,167,” Cvejić noted.

He also said that the media most frequently violated point 2 of Chapter 1 of the Code, which refers to not distinguishing facts from guesses and assumptions, with a total of 1,789 violations, and almost twice as many violations of point 1 of Chapter 1 (on the obligation of accurate, impartial, complete, and timely reporting on events of public interest) were recorded compared to the 2024 monitoring.

Cvejić also stated that the media violated the Code most often in political topics, “crime chronicles,” and on pages dedicated to celebrities.

On Protests Without Facts, Government in a Positive Tone, Crime Chronicles and Celebrities as Usual

Journalist Vera Didanović, who also worked on the monitoring, said it was observed that a large number of articles with completely identical content were published in different media.

“This indicates the existence of some external center from which those contents arrive. Most often, these are articles in the form of ‘pamphlets’ in which several different provisions are violated, primarily those related to truth in reporting, independence from influence, and journalist responsibility,” Didanović explained.

As she stated, these are usually articles discrediting “opponents of the regime,” citing as an example the case where, against prosecutor Mladen Nenadić, University of Belgrade Rector Vladan Đokić, and two people from the Serbian Railway Infrastructure, “based on a single photograph, articles were published for days accusing them of causing the canopy collapse.”

Speaking about reporting on politics and protests, she assessed that events are often conveyed through the interpretation of the authorities, without consulting other actors.

“In most media, facts about the protesters’ demands were missing, they were silenced, and the protests themselves were portrayed as harassment of citizens. Demonstrators were depicted as hooligans, and before major events, many articles were published spreading fear among citizens,” Didanović said.

She specifically warned about targeting campaigns. As she explained, individuals seen at protests were labeled as organizers, and then by discrediting them, the protest itself was discredited. She also noted that journalists reporting critically of the government were subjected to similar campaigns. She also stated that rhetoric inciting discrimination and aggression is often used, with derogatory labels for protest participants and offensive terms for certain national groups, which, as she emphasized, is not in line with ethics and the culture of public discourse.

“On the other hand, when reporting on government officials and their actions, these are regularly positive reports,” Didanović said. She also cited the example of media reporting on the European Commission report, where, according to her, facts about the content were missing, and the case was presented through the “positive” interpretation of the authorities, even though the text itself was highly critical.

In the section on crime chronicles and celebrities, Didanović said the situation is “usual,” but noted an attempt at greater caution regarding the right to privacy – the use of initials in crime chronicles is more frequent. However, she warned that there were revelations of the identities of victims and perpetrators of crimes (directly or indirectly), along with “unnecessary details,” speculation about motives, and relaying neighbors’ stories as facts. In celebrity news sections, according to her, the violation of privacy and reliance on unreliable sources continued, with “drastic” examples, including the case of writing about singer Ana Nikolić, as well as relaying content from reality TV shows that undermines the dignity of participants and minor children.

Record Number of Complaints

The Secretary General of the Press Council, Gordana Novaković, said that the complaints submitted to the Council last year coincided to some extent with the monitoring results.

“We received 185 complaints last year, and that is the highest number since the Press Council has been operating. The average was between 100 and 120, but last year it was significantly higher. Most of these complaints, directly or indirectly, related to the protests,” Novaković said, adding that most violations were related to truth in reporting, but also that nearly half of the total determined Code violations (54) related to the new chapter in the Code – Respect for Human Dignity.

She stated that the Complaints Commission issued 105 decisions finding a Code violation, only 22 decisions finding no Code violation, while the remaining complaints were resolved through mediation or dismissed on formal grounds, while in some cases the complainants withdrew their complaints.

The most violations were attributed to Alo and Informer, with 18 each, and Novosti with 14. Novaković also said that the complaints mainly related to online media.

Conclusions of the Press Council Monitoring

• In the second half of 2025, 7,346 violations were recorded in 4,506 articles in nine daily newspapers, representing a growth of about 10 percent compared to 2024 (396 more violations).On average, the Code was violated 751 times per month – the highest since 2021;
• Tabloids lead in violations– The most violations were recorded by Alo, Informer, and Kurir, while Danas and Nova had the fewest;
• Provisions related to truth in reporting are most frequently violated– Nearly half of all violations are from the Truth in Reporting chapter. Unverified information, failure to distinguish facts from speculation, and suppression of key facts affecting the understanding of events dominate;
• Copy-paste articles and the influence of an “external center”– The pattern of simultaneous publication of identical texts in multiple media was observed again, often in the form of pamphlets, indicating influence on editorial policy from a single center. These texts often violate multiple Code chapters simultaneously;
• Coordinated disinformation campaigns– Organized campaigns against individuals were recorded, without evidence and without the right to reply, violating the principle of not harming the reputation and dignity of individuals;
• Political reporting is one-sided and interpretative– Political events are often conveyed solely through the interpretations of government officials, without on-the-ground reporting and without the views of other actors. This deprives readers of complete, objective, and timely information;
• Protests are delegitimized and criminalized– In reporting on protests, the demands are silenced, participants are portrayed as hooligans or a threat, and before major gatherings, fear is spread through unverified “findings.” Protests are also discredited by targeting individuals labeled as leaders;
• Hate speech and discriminatory rhetoric– Tabloids massively use offensive and stigmatizing labels towards citizens, students, and certain national groups, representing a serious violation of ethics and the culture of public discourse;
• The government is portrayed affirmatively, criticism is silenced– Government activities are reported extensively and positively, while negative aspects are silenced. Even critical EU documents or ministerial arrests were presented selectively, without key facts (e.g., financial bases of cases);
• Systematic violation of privacy in crime chronicles and celebrity reporting– In “crime chronicles” and celebrity news, the revealing of identities of victims and suspects, relaying speculation and “neighbors’ stories” continues. Particularly problematic are cases involving children and family tragedies, as well as content from reality TV shows that undermines the dignity of minors.

Media that Most Violate the Code Earn the Most from Advertising

In addition to the monitoring conducted by the Press Council, research by BIRN titled “Analysis of Advertising Practices in Media: Money Flows, Lack of Criteria, and (Non-)Compliance with Ethical Norms” was also presented at the discussion. The research on mechanisms through which money flows into the media sector showed that the largest share of advertising money from the state and private companies goes precisely to media that systematically violate the Code.

The author of the research, Tanja Maksić, stated at the discussion that domestic media have been in a financial crisis for years and depend on state money.

“Around 76 percent of the public relies on the Internet as their main source of information, followed by television. The audience following the print press is the only one that is decreasing very rapidly, but regardless of that, the state actually still favors the print press,” Maksić said.

She added that the state distributes more than 22 million euros each year through public tenders and procurements.

The BIRN research covered 148 public procurement contracts for media and related services worth over 760 million dinars.

“The biggest spender is the National Lottery of Serbia, which spent 205 million dinars… Next in line is the Office for Public and Cultural Diplomacy, headed by Arnaud Guillon, and they spent 151 million dinars in 2025 on two contracts, one is the Promotion of Serbian Culture in the World and the other is the Digital Promotion of Culture in the Country and Abroad,” stated Tanja Maksić. She added that the largest portion of the money went to marketing agencies, which makes tracking the money difficult.

“If we look at the contracts concluded with media publishers, the company Tačno, i.e., Tanjug, is the most successful. They received over 37 million dinars from nine Ministries,” Maksić said.

According to the research findings, tabloids with a high number of violations of the Serbian Journalists’ Code had the most pages with advertisements. The Alo newspaper, with 2,004 recorded Code violations, charged for over 416 pages of ads, while Informer with 1,456 violations had more than 308 pages.

An analysis of the internal procedures of 27 state institutions showed that there are no criteria for selecting media related to professional or ethical standards; instead, the “lowest offered price” is most often used as the sole criterion, which, as assessed at the discussion, opens up space for financing media that violate citizens’ rights to objective information.