Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 17/11/2021
The letter of the American congressmen sent to the President of the USA, Joseph Biden, regarding the events in Serbia, was used by certain media favoring the policy of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to present the letter’s content to their readers manipulatively.
The letter of the American congressmen sent to the President of the USA, Joseph Biden, regarding the events in Serbia, was used by certain media favoring the policy of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic, to present the letters’ content to their readers manipulatively.
Website Lajk.rs published an article entitled:
“They cannot forgive him for this. “American congressmen crucify Vucic because he fought to provide ventilators for his people”.
The text states the following:
“Albanian lobbyist Torres is one of the signatories of the letter sent to Biden, accusing President Aleksandar Vucic of alleged corruption and pressure on the media, which is why he calls on Biden to use executive order 14,033 – blocking property and banning people who “destabilize the Western Balkans”. The problem for these congressmen is that Vucic, in the midst of the war for the purchase of ventilators, when the great powers hijacked ventilators at airports, did everything to reach them in order to save the citizens of Serbia?! It is surprising that Viola von Cramon did not sign this”, it is stated in the announcement.
This content was also published by websites Alo and Informer.
The claims in the text that the congressmen “accuse Vucic of alleged corruption” and pressure on the media, and that this is due to the purchase of ventilators, represent an example of deceiving the readers.
This can be seen from the content of the letter that the congressmen sent to Biden.
In the letter, the congressmen reminded the American president of his statement from August 2016, when he visited Serbia, that it is in the interest of the United States that the people of Serbia can grow and gain prosperity.
“Therefore, we encourage your administration to collaborate with President Aleksandar Vucic in the fight against corruption and attacks on press freedom, and both are key to a prosperous and democratic Serbia and its aspirations towards the European Union”. We invite you to consider using executive order 14033 to block the property and suspend the entry of certain people into the United States, which contributes to the destabilization of the situation in the Western Balkans”, where it is appropriate to advocate for a more transparent and accountable government of Serbia, it is stated in the letter.
The letter encourages the US presidential administration to work together with President Vucic and others to enable all media’s prosperity and ensure that media reporting in Serbia is fair and unbiased. For example, congressmen state that Pink TV, as the largest private media, received seven million euros in state loans from 2014 to 2016. When Vucic ran for president the following year, he got more time in the campaign on the same television than all competitors together.
The letter also states the following:
“Unfortunately for the people of Serbia, reports have shown that President Vucic has deepened corruption in Serbia, including the use of the coronavirus crisis as an excuse to obscure state spending and the procurement of PPE (protective medical equipment) and ventilators. President Vucic went so far as to say on the Radio Television of Serbia that while the whole world was looking for ventilators, Serbia was procuring them, “semi-legally”. “We believe that the administration should take quick measures that would oppose the existing corruption and attacks on the freedom of the press in Serbia,” it is stated in the letter.
Therefore, the letter does not attack Vucic for procuring ventilators but points to suspicions of corruption and the legality of the procurement of the equipment.
Since the facts from the letter confirm that the American congressmen pointed out the problem of corruption and pressure on the media in Serbia, to which Vucic also contributed (illustrating this with concrete examples), and that the congressmen did not “crucify Vucic for his fight to provide people with ventilators”, we rate this publication as the “manipulation of facts”.
The “Manipulation of Facts” rating was given to a media report that uses known and accurate facts, but misleadingly interprets them. These reports generally use accurate information to draw inaccurate conclusions or claims, thus directing the conclusions of media content consumers in the wrong direction in relation to the actual meaning of the facts presented.
Author: Darvin Muric