This report is based on a continuous monitoring process of domestic media in North Macedonia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Montenegro, and BosniaHerzegovina conducted within the framework of the regional project Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Watchdog Journalism. It presents an overview of disinformation trends and narratives, their distribution between countries, and their sources for the period of July-December 2022.
During the monitoring period, the most frequent theme for disinformation in all Western Balkan countries was “The Russian war in Ukraine.” The narratives varied, but tended to present a negative picture of Ukraine as a neo-Nazi and war profiteer that sells military aid that other countries donate. The second most frequent theme was “The West is responsible for the war,” which means “The war is actually between the USA and Russia,” alongside the narrative that “NATO expansion is to blame for Russia’s aggression.”
