The third regional report on the state of disinformation in the Southeast Europe / Western Balkans gives a comprehensive overview of trends and phenomena observed by fact-checking newsrooms and the activities undertaken to fight disinformation in the region during 2025.
Published by the SEE Check network, the report draws on the monitoring and fact-checking work of Faktoje in Albania, Raskrinkavanje.ba in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faktograf in Croatia, Raskrinkavanje.me in Montenegro, Raskrikavanje in Serbia, and Oštro/Razkrinkavanje in Slovenia. It maps the dominant topics, actors, techniques and events that shaped the regional information environment, while also reviewing efforts to counter disinformation and relevant legal developments.
The report finds that 2025 was marked by political crises, pressure on independent media, growing use of artificial intelligence in disinformation, and intensified attacks on fact-checkers and civil society.
Two domestic crises stood out as major triggers for disinformation: the mass student-led protests in Serbia following the deadly collapse of the Novi Sad railway station canopy in 2024 and the constitutional crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina triggered by the court sentencing and removal of Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik from office.
Global developments also had a strong regional impact. The return of Donald Trump to the US presidency, the suspension of USAID funding, and Meta’s announcement that it would end its third-party fact-checking program in the United States were all used by political actors, pro-government media and conspiracy theorists to attack independent media, civil society and fact-checkers.
Disinformation narratives: old themes, new triggers
Across the region, familiar conspiracy theories remained active in 2025. These included claims about a hidden “world government” and secretive global elites, depopulation conspiracies, and theories alleging that international institutions are trying to restrict property rights, cash payments or freedom of expression.
The war in Ukraine continued to generate disinformation across the region. False claims targeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, alleged Western troops in Ukraine, supposed conflicts between Ukraine and allied countries, and the idea that NATO or the EU were preparing for direct war with Russia.
Anti-gender disinformation remained widespread in all covered countries, targeting primarily LGBT+ communities. Anti-migration narratives also remained strong. In Montenegro, false and exaggerated claims targeted Turkish nationals living in the country, escalating after an attack on a Montenegrin man by foreign nationals.
Anti-science disinformation remained a major cross-border problem. Anti-vaccination narratives continued to target Covid-19 vaccines, MMR vaccines, seasonal vaccines and new medical developments. Health misinformation also included dangerous claims discouraging cancer screening and treatment, while promoting unverified “natural” remedies.
Climate change denial continued to rise, often relying on selectively presented or manipulated data framed as scientific evidence. The report notes that these narratives were sometimes amplified by prominent political figures, including Donald Trump.
Artificial intelligence played a growing role in the regional disinformation landscape. AI-generated or manipulated content appeared in political campaigns, scams, fake endorsements, war-related disinformation, and social media manipulation. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a fabricated ChatGPT screenshot was presented as false evidence about party polling. In Montenegro, AI-generated videos were used for scams, including fabricated videos featuring public officials. Across the region, AI-generated medical scam videos falsely showed public figures endorsing unverified products.
Protests in Serbia: A regional disinformation topic
The student-led protests in Serbia became one of the central disinformation topics of 2025. The protests began after the collapse of a railway station canopy in Novi Sad in November 2024, which killed 16 people and triggered public demands for accountability.
Political actors and pro-government tabloids framed the protests as a “color revolution”, foreign-funded destabilization, terrorism, sabotage or an extremist movement. These narratives targeted students, protesters, journalists, prosecutors, lawyers and others who supported accountability demands. In Serbia, President Aleksandar Vučić was identified as the most prominent source of false claims about the protests, repeatedly alleging that they were organized and financed from abroad. Other ruling party officials amplified the same narratives, while Russian state-linked voices framed the protests as a Western-backed “color revolution”.
The same narratives spread beyond Serbia, particularly into Bosnia and Herzegovina, where fact-checkers debunked claims portraying the protests as externally engineered. In BiH, political and public figures also spread false or misleading claims about election technologies, USAID funding and the country’s constitutional crisis. In Montenegro, politicians amplified anti-Turkish disinformation.
Fact-checking climate
Fact-checkers across the region faced intensified hostility in 2025. Meta’s decision to end its third-party fact-checking program in the United States was quickly used by political actors and disinformation spreaders in the Western Balkans to claim that fact-checking was censorship.
In Serbia, President Vučić described Meta’s decision as “hope for normal people around the world” and called fact-checkers “the worst censors” and “the biggest liars in Serbia”. These attacks were amplified by pro-government tabloids. In Montenegro, civil society organizations and fact-checkers faced false accusations of financial abuse linked to USAID funding.
Despite pressure, SEE Check member organizations maintained active fact-checking operations throughout the year.
Faktoje in Albania verified and debunked 908 claims or narratives in 2025, including around 580 related to Facebook content, and published more than 70 investigations on foreign malign disinformation. Raskrinkavanje.ba expanded its database to more than 3,850 fact-checked media and social media sources. Raskrikavanje published major investigations on pro-Kremlin propaganda in the Balkans and pro-China narratives in Serbian tabloids. CDT in Montenegro ran an education campaign on the EU Digital Services Act, while Oštro in Slovenia conducted workshops and professional seminars.
Regional cooperation also deepened. Cross-border analyses by Faktograf, FakeNews Tragač and Raskrinkavanje.me showed how disinformation narratives move across borders, especially on TikTok, climate change denial and anti-science content.
The report also reviews legislation related to information integrity. Albania adopted a National Strategy Against Disinformation for 2025–2030, but without implementing legislation, budget or action plan. Bosnia and Herzegovina saw no major new legislation, but the Central Election Commission applied election law changes related to disinformation for the first time, raising concerns about unclear definitions and enforcement standards.
Montenegro signed a Protocol on the Protection of Journalists and began work on aligning national legislation with the Digital Services Act and European Media Freedom Act. Serbia adopted amendments to three media laws, but the process was criticized as rushed and insufficiently transparent. Croatia adopted its DSA implementation law, while Slovenia introduced a new Mass Media Act requiring the labelling of AI-generated media content.
The 2025 report shows that disinformation in Southeast Europe is increasingly shaped by the interaction of domestic political crises, global geopolitical developments, platform policy changes, financial pressure on media, and new technological tools such as AI.
While many narratives are familiar, their triggers and formats continue to evolve. The same false claims and manipulative framings move across borders, languages and platforms, making regional cooperation among fact-checkers and media organizations essential.
The report concludes that fighting disinformation in the region requires more than debunking individual false claims. It depends on stronger independent media, safer conditions for journalists and fact-checkers, public awareness, cross-border collaboration, transparent regulation, and sustained investment in information integrity.
Read the full report on this link.
