Update
The Cluster 3 note and the Rule of Law report: two pictures ...
Within a single fortnight in July 2026, the European Commission produced two documents about the sam...
Vučić's addresses in January (26 addresses)
In January, President Vučić made 26 public addresses, carried by 234 television channels. In most of them, instead of concrete domestic issues, he redirected attention to global themes and to the narrative that Serbia is constantly under threat, both from outside and within. International affairs were the main axis of his messages, frequently tied to the army and security and to warnings of threats, with the president consistently positioned as the barrier holding instability back. The economy and energy featured as secondary themes, presented as proof of stability and of his personal achievements. EU integration and the protests appeared only at the margins - the EU mostly through a conflict frame ("we won't let them blackmail us") rather than as a reform agenda, and the protests primarily through a security-propaganda lens.
Representative statements:
26
public addresses by President Vučić
234
television channels carrying his addresses
Manipulations in headlines and leads of central news broadcasts (May 2026)
In January, CRTA recorded 123 manipulations. The dominant narratives were vilifying opponents, with 48 manipulations, vilifying neighbours, with 33, and vilifying the EU, with 30, with the remaining 12 spread across other narratives.
Total manipulations
123
Dominant narratives
Vilifying opponents, neighbours & the EU
1) Vilifying opponents - 48 manipulations
Topic: civil society (and students, and the Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime).
Critics of the authorities are presented as illegitimate, paid, covert or anti-state, and criticism is repackaged as an attempt to bring down the state or its European path rather than a debate about facts. Dehumanisation and moral discrediting are frequent, especially against students, alongside the framing of institutions as reliant on foreign embassies.
Critics of the authorities are presented as illegitimate, paid, covert or anti-state, and criticism is repackaged as an attempt to bring down the state or its European path rather than a debate about facts. Dehumanisation and moral discrediting are frequent, especially against students, alongside the framing of institutions as reliant on foreign embassies.
Examples:
Civil Society:
Students:
Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime (TOK):
2) Vilifying neighbours - 33 manipulations
Topic: the Serbian Orthodox Church and the suspension of Vladislav Dajković. Neighbouring states and religious or political actors are presented as part of a coordinated attack on the Church and on Serbs, with events framed as a planned operation and a strong tone of collective threat.
Examples:
2) Vilifying the EU - 30 manipulations
Topic: a visit by Members of the European Parliament. The EU is portrayed as a punitive expedition, a hostile actor or a patron of the opposition, with messages of cooperation and the accession process replaced by narratives of humiliation, blackmail and betrayal.
