Serbian tabloids pay damages with citizens' money while continuing to defame opponents

In Serbia, tabloids are reportedly facing a surge in lawsuits for defamation and insult, with lawyers noting a doubling of cases compared to the previous year. Attorney Ivan Ninić stated that public figures, journalists, and ordinary citizens have few options for protection other than pursuing legal action against these publications.

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We do not have timely, accurate, and complete information; instead, we have a hyperproduction of texts that result in dozens and hundreds of lawsuits during the year.

Ninić highlighted that tabloids produce a high volume of texts, leading to hundreds of lawsuits annually. While these publications pay substantial damages, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dinars, for damaging honor and reputation, the legal practice allows for awards of only 80,000 to 100,000 dinars per case of slander, falsehood, or insult. "They are paid with the money of the citizens of Serbia to target, slander, humiliate, and portray all opponents of the regime and those who do not swallow regime lies as traitors to the state and the people," said Filip Švarm, editor of the weekly Vreme.

Journalist Željko Veljković of Nova Televizija is currently targeted for choosing to vacation in Croatia. Informer editor Dragan Vučićević accused him of blocking and destroying Serbia while idolizing and promoting Croatia. Veljković commented that his vacation was funded by his former employer, B92, due to a lawsuit, and noted that the tabloids continue their attacks despite losing cases. According to interviewees, the owners of these tabloids do not pay these damages from their own pockets, suggesting a different dynamic if they were personally liable.

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They are paid with the money of the citizens of Serbia to target, slander, humiliate, and portray all opponents of the regime and those who do not swallow regime lies as traitors to the state and the people.

Švarm described tabloids as a "regime weapon," suggesting that producing negative content and paying fines demonstrates loyalty to the president and his political party, leading to rewards in the form of budget allocations. Ninić added that the situation resembles a "bottomless pit." The number of lawsuits against tabloids is increasing, with the Higher Court in Belgrade receiving over 2,000 civil lawsuits against media outlets and editors annually in recent years, a significant rise from approximately 1,000 per year previously.

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Serbia is blocked and destroyed, it idolizes and advertises Croatia, the Ustaše! Shame!!!

Švarm warned that attacks could become more malicious and insidious, noting that Serbia has become a country of political emigrants, citing journalist Aleksandar Radić's departure for safety reasons. Veljković recalled harsher methods against dissidents in the past, mentioning that during a period when journalists were murdered, the minister of information was Aleksandar Vučić, the current president.

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Because they don't pay those lawsuits out of their own pockets, the situation would be completely different... we simply have to understand that tabloids are a regime weapon.