Press Council: 25 Portals Violated the Journalists' Code with Articles about Veran Matić

(Source: ANEM) The Complaints Commission of the Press Council unanimously assessed at yesterday’s session that 25 portals violated the Journalists’ Code of Serbia with their articles about Veran Matić, President of the Managing Board of the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM), specifically by publishing excerpts from a video produced by the Center for Social Stability that was broadcast on B92, Prva, Informer, and Documentary TV.

It was assessed that these articles violated several provisions of the Journalists’ Code. The media outlets concerned are Informer.rs, Srbija Danas, Alo.rs, Palanačke vesti, Glas Aranđelovca, Stara Pazova uživo, Nova Pazova uživo, Srbija na istoku, Podunavlje uživo, Knjaževačka hronika, Vojvodina uživo, Lučani uživo, NS uživo, RTV Pančevo, Novosadska TV, 24 sedam, Dnevnik.rs, 025.rs, Gradske info, Dunavtelevizija.rs, RTV Bap, 025info.rs, Drina Info, Moja Bačka Topola, and 024info.rs. Sremske vesti removed the article from its portal before the session, which is why the Commission did not deliberate on that outlet.

In the complaint submitted by Veran Matić, it is stated that the articles contain a series of falsehoods, that facts were distorted and placed in a negative context, and that unfounded accusations were made without any opportunity to hear “the other side,” thereby damaging his reputation without any basis and endangering his safety, given that all the articles describe him as a foreign mercenary, traitor, and similar.

Members of the Complaints Commission assessed at the session that these articles are part of an organized campaign against Veran Matić and that it is hypocritical that some of the media outlets offered to publish a rebuttal and “amicably resolve the dispute” only after the complaint was filed.

Commission member Jelka Jovanović stated that there is an obvious intention by the regime and its supporters to settle accounts with Veran Matić in the cruelest way, in a manner that endangers his safety. “This has nothing to do with professional reporting. It is pure, stripped-down political propaganda in the worst sense,” Jovanović assessed.

Jelena Petković stated that the documentary “Evil Age 2,” which prompted these articles, directly endangers Veran Matić’s safety and that the production by the Center for Social Stability is chilling and dangerous.

“Matić is accused of everything you can imagine as the worst about someone; all of it is attributed to him. These articles are in fact part of that campaign; they are an extended arm for those who did not watch the film, which constitutes a violation of the entire Journalists’ Code and has nothing to do with journalism,” Petković emphasized.

Filip Švarm, referring to the justification by certain media outlets that they merely republished someone else’s text, reminded that there is no journalistic reason to republish the same text unless it is part of a campaign. He added that all the media bear responsibility because by republishing the same content they joined the campaign.

Olivera Milošević also stated that this is a form of organized campaign with a perfidious aim—namely, the obvious verification of readership figures due to uncertainty as to whether the film had achieved sufficient impact.

The Commission assessed that all these articles violated Points 1, 2, and 3 of Chapter I, which stipulate that journalists are obliged to publish accurate and verified information, to report impartially and present information in an appropriate context, to clearly distinguish between facts and comments, assumptions and speculation, and that publishing unfounded accusations, defamation, and rumors, as well as content whose author is unknown, is incompatible with journalism.

Point 2 of Chapter II was also violated, which states that the economic and political interests of publishers must not influence editorial policy in a way that results in inaccurate, biased, or incomplete reporting.

Furthermore, Points 2 and 3 of Chapter III were violated, which relate to journalists fostering a culture and ethics of public speech, refraining from hate speech, aggressive rhetoric, or rhetoric that may incite discrimination or aggressive behavior, and that journalists are primarily responsible to the public and must not subordinate that responsibility to the interests of others—publishers, corporations, governments, and other state bodies. It was also assessed that Point 4 of this chapter was violated, which stipulates that editors are responsible for the overall content of the media.

Under Chapter V, Point 3 was violated, according to which journalists must respect the principle of not harming the reputation and dignity of individuals and must not participate in spreading falsehoods or in the continuous malicious damage to the reputation of persons they report on.

Finally, Point 3 of Chapter VIII was violated, which stipulates that journalists are obliged to consult as many sources as possible, as none of these media outlets sought to hear the other side of the story.