The conflict has triggered the spread of fake news and disinformation in Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary, while religion and nationalism inspire some violations in Bosnia and North Macedonia.
The second half of February was almost completely absorbed by the start of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine, coinciding with a significant rise in cases of disinformation and fake news.
In Serbia, Bosnia and Hungary, several cases of disinformation on the Ukrainian conflict were reported. In the latter two countries, online manipulations were motivated by internal reasons, mainly to discredit political opponents.
Nationalist rhetoric in Bosnia and Herzegovina meanwhile continued to fuel online tensions. In North Macedonia, the arrival of members of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish group gave rise to episodes of intolerance with the local community. Cyberattacks and phishing scams systematically hit public and private IT servers in Serbia, North Macedonia and Croatia.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, online media and local newspapers have been almost completely consumed by the war.
Social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook have become powerful tools of political activism and propaganda that in many cases ended up amplifying misinformation on the Russian invasion.
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