108 attacks on media in September, Vucic and Bakarec 30 each

The Slavko Curuvija Foundation said on October 5 that it recorded at least 108 verbal attacks on journalists and media in September 2026 by state officials, representatives of the authorities and officials of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). According to the statement, that is roughly the same as in July and August, and below the average of the first half of the year, when the Foundation recorded 163 attacks a month.

The gap of 55 attacks means the monthly total fell by about a third against that average.

Which officials attacked journalists most?

The Foundation logged the most attacks in statements and posts by two politicians, 30 for each:

• Aleksandar Vucic: 30
• Nebojsa Bakarec: 30
• Vladimir Djukanovic: 17
• Milenko Jovanov: 14
• Ana Brnabic, Speaker of the National Assembly and acting President of Serbia: nine

Vucic and Bakarec together account for 60 of the 108 attacks, more than half. The five named officials add up to 100, which leaves eight for the others mentioned in the statement: SNS president Milos Vucevic, Belgrade Mayor Aleksandar Sapic, Vojvodina Provincial Government president Maja Gojkovic, and the SNS itself in official statements and posts. The Foundation gives no individual figures for them.

Reports of the statement differ on one detail: Danas lists Bakarec, Djukanovic and Jovanov as SNS lawmakers, while Insajder describes them as recent former lawmakers.

Which media outlets were targeted?

The Foundation said in its statement:

“More than two thirds of the attacks were aimed at the media recently taken over by the Portuguese fund Alpac Capital: N1, Nova, Danas and Radar. Besides them, the targets included BIRN, the local Ozon press, Radio Television of Serbia, and the Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM).”

On individual journalists, the Foundation said:

“Among individual journalists and media authors, the most frequent targets were Tanja Aleksic and Zaklina Tatalovic of N1, and Zoran Kesic, author of the show ‘24 minuta’, which was cancelled in September on TV Nova after the change in management of the outlet.”

Kesic’s show was cancelled in September, according to the same statement, after the change in management at TV Nova.

How many of the attacks were tied to the elections?

More than a third of the recorded attacks, 35 percent, were connected to the upcoming parliamentary elections. Out of 108, that is about 38 attacks, or one in three explicitly linked to the campaign.

The Foundation’s statement contains no responses from the officials mentioned, and reports of the statement do not say that any of them commented. The figures come solely from the monitoring by the Slavko Curuvija Foundation.