Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 07/04/2022
During a war in Europe, many media outlets are misleadingly interpreting information. Thus, inaccurate conclusions are easily made, leading readers to wrong narratives.
The website IN4S published a text claiming that the symbols of the neo-Nazi organization from Ukraine, the “Right sector”, were found on the streets of Podgorica, and that our country is “sliding” into fascism. It is also added that such iconography is expected in Montenegro.
Montenegro slides into fascism: Symbols of Ukrainian neo-Nazi organizations on the streets of Podgorica!
Namely, in addition to the flags of Ukraine, a banner featuring “#Ukranians will resist” was used at the protest, and next to it is a symbol of a compressed fist colored in black, red and white, which is a symbol of a neo-Nazi organization from Ukraine, the Right sector”.
The same information was shared by Borba, under the following title:
“Shame: Symbols of Ukrainian neo-Nazi organizations on the streets of Podgorica!”
Manipulation: who organized the protest?
This is a manipulation of the prostest, and it is evidenced by the fact that “March in support of Ukraine against Russian aggression” was held in Podgorica on April 3, organized by the Ukrainian association “Good deed”. Citizens carried banners and stuffed toys that they left in front of the Assembly, where they had a moment of silence in honor of Ukrainian children killed in the war.
On the main banner, in addition to the message “Ukrainians will resist”, there is a red, black and white fist, which IN4S claims represents a neo-Nazi organization “the Right sector”.
This organization, however, has an entirely different logo based on the sword. All this once again shows that manipulation was the media’s intention.
The Right sector (Правий сектор) is a Ukrainian nationalist radical right-wing political party known for the role its members played before and during the conflict with pro-Russian separatists. It was created at the end of 2013, during Euromaidan, by an informal gathering of hitherto mostly marginalized radical right-wing groups.
The fist symbol in this area is primarily related to the youth resistance movement from Serbia, which fought for the overthrow of the then-president Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. However, it is used worldwide because it is a universal symbol of the non-acceptance of coercion.
At similar protests in support of Ukraine, a flag or banner in black and red appears in various cities worldwide. It is the flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which was founded in 1942 and took part in the Second World War. The flag means different things to different people – it can be either a symbol of the struggle for independence or violent, far-right nationalism. The Canadian CBC.CA wrote about it and explained that red and black were used to express Ukrainian nationalism, dating back to before fascism and the Second World War. In addition, the inspiration for red, which refers to love, and black to sadness, was found in Slavic songs and poetry from the 12th century.
The text of IN4S states that Montenegro is “sliding into fascism”. The protest was organized by the Ukrainian association the “Good deed”, and not by Montenegrin organizations.
Due to all the above, we assess the text to be a manipulation of the facts.
The “manipulation of the facts” rating is given to a media report that uses known and accurate facts, but interprets them in a misleading way. These reports generally use accurate information to draw inaccurate conclusions or claims, thus misleading media content consumers’ in relation to the actual meaning of the facts presented.