{"id":11462,"date":"2025-07-31T11:56:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T10:56:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/?p=11462"},"modified":"2025-11-28T13:43:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T12:43:47","slug":"alter-media-alter-reality-spiritual-tourism-pseudoscience-and-conspiracy-influencers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/2025\/07\/31\/alter-media-alter-reality-spiritual-tourism-pseudoscience-and-conspiracy-influencers\/","title":{"rendered":"Alter Media, Alter Reality: Spiritual Tourism, Pseudoscience, and Conspiracy Influencers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Our arrival at the Ravne 2 park in Visoko was anything but organized: we were late, got lost, and had no set plan. Still, it paled in comparison to the disarray of the event known as \u201cAlter Media.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNew media, for new times, with new, bold, and courageous people.\u201d That\u2019s how the festival Alter Media \u2013 Through Truth to Freedom<\/em> was announced. It took place from July 17 to 20, 2025, in the Ravne 2 park in Visoko, under the leadership of Semir Osmanagi\u0107. A few days before the event, we published an article<\/a> introducing the organizers and highlighting the featured presenters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Amid a global rise in distrust toward institutions, the media, and science, a gathering like Alter Media<\/em> offers a glimpse into the formation of a parallel informational reality. The festival in Visoko is not merely a bizarre attraction, it rather functions as a living display of a growing, profitable ecosystem of disinformation, pseudoscience, and digital spirituality that increasingly bridges the gap between the virtual and the physical world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose who wish to be in the company of Dr. Osmanagi\u0107 and his associates will have the opportunity to secure it by paying for a four-day package, which includes accommodation, organic lunches, presentations, tickets to the sites, and priority seating in the Lecture Hall in the park,\u201d the announcement stated. This privilege came at a price of \u20ac195 to \u20ac330, while single-day tickets were \u20ac50.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cameraman and I chose the single-day option for Saturday, July 19. We emailed to register the day before, but, having received no reply by Saturday morning, we decided to join the group at the first scheduled stop: a 9 a.m. visit to the tumulus in Vratnica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, we were late. Owing to chaotic organization (mea culpa), we decided to head straight to Ravne 2 park, where a presentation was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. We arrived at 11:30, worried we had missed much, only to find the lecture hall empty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the park, besides other visitors, we met a staff member who was packing gifts for the guests: a set of Semir Osmanagi\u0107\u2019s books Alternative History<\/em>. She kindly offered us more information: the group was running late; they were still at the tumulus. \u201cThey probably got lost in meditation,\u201d she said. The schedule she showed us didn\u2019t match the one available online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Lecture hall in Ravne 2 Park prepared for participants of the \u201cAlter Media\u201d festival<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The list of presenters didn\u2019t look quite the same either. Well-known names? Nowhere to be seen. (\u201cNot ringing any bells, honestly. No big names here,\u201d as one visitor told me.)I asked about Sa\u0161a Borojevi\u0107, a well-known Serbian disinformer and a major figure in conspiracy theory circles. \u201cHe canceled because of the situation in the country,\u201d the employee said vaguely. Lana Stani\u0161i\u0107, a well-known Bosnian TV personality who had been announced, will reportedly attend an event later in the year. Among the presenters, there were only a few more recognizable names, such as Slovenian actress Tanja Ribi\u010d, who had already given a presentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also standing out was Mario Boji\u0107 from Serbia, known for his striking curled mustache and his podcast Mario zna <\/em>(\u201cMario Knows\u201d), in which he hosts some of the biggest stars of the conspiracy theory scene, such as anti-vaccine pulmonologist Branimir Nestorovi\u0107 and conspiracy theorist Mila Ale\u010dkovi\u0107. Boji\u0107, whom the Novi Sad-based Fake News Traga\u010d rather cynically renamed Mario ne zna<\/em> (\u201cMario Doesn\u2019t Know\u201d) for the falsehoods he spread about electric buses, and who cannot tell artificially generated images from authentic ones, held his presentation the day before. As much as we would have liked to hear him, we couldn\u2019t have planned our arrival more precisely anyway, since the presenters\u2019 schedule was never published in advance. I\u2019m beginning to understand why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the schedule, lunch is at 1 p.m., with participant presentations starting at 2 p.m. and running until the evening. By 1 o\u2019clock, however, there\u2019s still no sign of the group we\u2019re waiting for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I head over to a building painted with \u201cchakras\u201d and decorated inside with local artwork, mandalas, sold for around 60 euros and up. There I run into the same staff member, and I ask her for an explanation. \u201cIf fashionably late is fifteen minutes, then on YouTuber time it\u2019s a full hour,\u201d she says, adding, \u201cYou know, this isn\u2019t like the German system, where if something\u2019s at 9, it starts at 9. Especially if they\u2019re better-known people; they give themselves extra time,\u201d she explains. I start to wonder whether it\u2019s even worth it for the cameraman and me to pay 50 euros each for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Table with descriptions of chakras and their corresponding colors in Ravne 2 Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spirals, Mandalas, and a Canine Tesla<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At least it means we have time to explore the park. And it really is an impressive creation: a m\u00e9lange of spiritual and pseudo-spiritual practices from around the world. In one section stand Vedic houses from India. Right next to them is the Rose Labyrinth of Love, with concentric walking circles. There are also \u201cenergy spirals,\u201d where, depending on the direction you walk, you supposedly either give energy to the Earth or draw it from her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On \u201cTesla Square\u201d stands a statue of the famous scientist, while inspirational and spiritual messages are scattered throughout the park. \u201cWhen you are guided by love, you can easily uncover the secrets of the universe,\u201d proclaims a cartoon dog, Nikola Tesla, wearing a bow tie and holding a dove, while across the table, another dog with wild hair and a T-shirt bearing Einstein\u2019s famous equation of relativity looks at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Caricature of Nikola Tesla\u2019s dog with a message about love, energy, and vibrations in Ravne 2 Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPath of Smiles,\u201d \u201cPath of the Heart,\u201d \u201cChamber of Life Energy\u201d – signposts everywhere point toward new promises of physical and mental well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A little further on, past the well-known tennis courts, the spiritual mishmash is joined by a literary one. \u201cImmortal Poets,\u201d announces a park sign beside busts of Desanka Maksimovi\u0107, Edgar Allan Poe, Tin Ujevi\u0107, Yesenin, Lorca\u2026 Without any clear logic, the same simulacrum also includes Vladimir Prelog, Mileva Mari\u0107 Einstein, and Mihajlo Pupin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a few meters away stand pavilions dedicated to the historical figures Baton of the Daesitiates, Alexander the Great, and Husein-kapetan Grada\u0161\u010devi\u0107. \u201cWhat\u2019s Alexander the Great doing here?\u201d I hear a passerby ask their group – the same question I\u2019m asking myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Pavilion featuring a depiction of Alexander the Great in Ravne 2 Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Tunnels, Energy, and Novak \u0110okovi\u0107<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

On a bench near the lecture hall, we meet two lively women who are happy to chat with us. They are enthusiastic fans of the park and the healing powers of the Ravne tunnels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy right leg was 1.8 cm shorter than my left, I used to wear insoles,\u201d begins Milena from the Netherlands, originally from Mladenovac. \u201cWhen I entered the tunnel, I started swaying like this and making circles like this to the left,\u201d she demonstrates, claiming that after coming to Visoko, she now walks completely normally. One of those responsible for her visit to the tunnels, she says, was tennis player Novak Djokovic, whose victories she attributes precisely to his visits to this place, a claim with no scientific basis, but one often repeated in these circles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf only we had more places like this. I feel some kind of positive energy here: wherever I go, wherever I stand, it just feels so good to me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women reveal that during the pandemic they got their information exclusively from Osmanagi\u0107 and similar \u201calternative media.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve been following Osmanagi\u0107 for years, I\u2019ve watched every one of his videos, and I felt like I was living with him during the pandemic. I only trusted him, he was the only one telling the truth,\u201d says Milena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked why she didn\u2019t trust the media, Milena replies that she can feel the energy. \u201cFor me, the truth is my feeling,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They attend the lectures during \u201cAlter Media,\u201d which are free for park visitors. At that moment, I decide that we definitely won\u2019t be buying the day pass, even though it includes lunch and my stomach is already growling loudly. Milena eyes me suspiciously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd you\u2026 are you mainstream media?\u201d she asks. And it\u2019s clear to me: that\u2019s where the conversation ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Rose Labyrinth of Love in Ravne 2 Park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s Not Proven, but It Feels Good\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the lecture hall, people occasionally gather, wait, and then leave again. We persist. It\u2019s already half past two, and the group still hasn\u2019t returned. While we wait, we take the opportunity to film the park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t film me,\u201d says a woman standing in the \u201cgeopuncture circle.\u201d \u201cYou can film me, no problem,\u201d chimes in a cheerful woman we find in the middle of meditation. Her name is Dragana, and this is her fourth visit. She and her group came from Belgrade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The woman who didn\u2019t want to be filmed adds: \u201cIt\u2019s interesting\u2026 but it\u2019s not scientifically proven.\u201d Still, she emphasizes that she keeps an open mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt first it seems silly, then your head stops hurting, and then you realize it all makes sense,\u201d says Dragana. Experiences like these mostly remain in the realm of subjective perception, and no scientific confirmation of the effects is available.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked if they attend the lectures, they say no. \u201cNone of them really have a scientific background,\u201d explains the woman from Belgrade. \u201cIt\u2019s more of a self-promotion,\u201d she adds, while her companion describes it as pseudoscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the two women we spoke to earlier, Dragana says it all comes down to the feeling: when she\u2019s in the park, she simply feels different. I mention that I don\u2019t share that feeling. \u201cI think it\u2019s about the level of consciousness,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI Do My Own Research\u201d: From UDBA to Climate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Cinema\/Lecture Hall<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just then, the festival group arrives and begins lunch. We return to the lecture hall to wait, only to find a new set of people already there. A couple from Pula say they come every year for about ten days. Behind them sits a man from Serbia who has come with his son. Slovenian can also be heard in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Serbian man says he is a retired engineer who now, as he puts it, dabbles in history recreationally. What follows is a torrent of theories: \u201cIt\u2019s all the Jews\u2019 fault,\u201d he says with an air of authority. This type of antisemitism, though harmful, is dangerously normalized in conspiracy circles. \u201cThose people on YouTube, 90% of them work for our UDBA,\u201d he adds, referring to the State Security Administration (Uprava dr\u017eavne bezbednosti<\/em>), the former secret police of socialist Yugoslavia. UDBA operated from the late 1940s until the early 1990s, tasked with domestic surveillance, political repression, and intelligence gathering, both in Yugoslavia and abroad. In conspiracy theory circles today, the term is often used as a catch-all for a shadowy, all-powerful network supposedly controlling politics, media, and public life, even though the agency formally ceased to exist after the breakup of Yugoslavia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then moves on to claim that he knows who killed Zoran \u0110in\u0111i\u0107, the Serbian prime minister assassinated in 2003, but, of course, \u201ccan\u2019t say.\u201d Like most claims of this sort, none are backed by evidence, instead blending classic elements of antisemitism with local political myths. Park staff occasionally caution him for being disruptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A man from Zagreb approaches, saying he came because he heard there would be a talk about climate, and that he knows \u201cmore than the average person\u201d on the subject. When asked how so, he replies, \u201cI research more than the average person.\u201d He then launches into a discussion about CO\u2082 levels in the atmosphere and permafrost, demonstrating a solid command of the terminology. \u201cMilanovi\u0107 cycles!\u201d the Serbian man occasionally shouts, adding his own \u201ccontribution.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Around 3:30 p.m., Osmanagi\u0107\u2019s group of about 30 begins to approach. We speak with one of the participants who paid for the multi-day package. Originally from Novi Sad, Olivera now lives in Los Angeles and says she is very pleased with the gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat I liked most was that Semir took us everywhere,\u201d she says, adding that the experience can\u2019t be compared to listening to the same content on YouTube. She also says she\u2019s especially glad she got to see some of the YouTubers she follows in person. \u201cAlthough, I came for the socializing, this is all a bonus,\u201d she adds with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It seems there are few people like Olivera who paid for the package: we counted only three wearing the wristband that marks them. They got the chance to spend time with a select group of Alter Media presenters and, above all, with Osmanagi\u0107 himself, who personally led them to the tumulus, tunnels, the \u201cBosnian Pyramid of the Sun,\u201d and other sites, where they could get information and answers to their questions directly from him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Choice and the \u201cAlternative\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The announced speaker, Adnan Ja\u0161o Ja\u0161arspahi\u0107, still hasn\u2019t arrived. In his place, Sarajevo-based YouTuber Haris Muteveli\u0107, behind the profile Dolly Bell TV, presents his channel. The presentation lasts less than five minutes. Muteveli\u0107 explains how, in the absence of work, he started a YouTube channel. As a boxer and artist, he covers a wide range of topics. At one lecture, he heard a professor say that the pyramids were a fraud, which piqued his interest and prompted him to start exploring the subject. He has yet to settle on the direction for his channel. If we came expecting thrilling conspiracy theories and an explanation of the meaning of the universe, in the style of a celebrity YouTuber from an alternative universe, we were left disappointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\u201cDetox\u201d water available for purchase in the park<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The presenter modestly notes that he is only just starting out. In the Q&A, the audience encourages him to \u201cfind his style.\u201d The awkwardness of the moment is further enhanced by a random outburst from the back: \u201cThe Jews are to blame for everything!\u201d To be fair, the statement is met with disapproval and rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A break is announced until the next speaker arrives. In addition to Ja\u0161arspahi\u0107, the announced speakers for the day included Peter Jasak, Suzana Miti\u0107, Marko Kapri\u0161, and Ratko Martinovi\u0107. At that moment, I notice that the man from Serbia – the one who knows who killed \u0110in\u0111i\u0107 and believes the Jews are to blame for everything – quietly slips away. It\u2019s unclear whether he left of his own accord or was prompted to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the break, we speak with Osmanagi\u0107, who emphasizes that this is a gathering of \u201cfree, alternative media,\u201d energized, he says, by the period of the Covid-19 pandemic. \u201cThat was a sad time, when constitutionally guaranteed rights were suspended,\u201d says Osmanagi\u0107, who previously called the virus \u201cbiological warfare.\u201d This claim, common among vaccine opponents, has been rejected as a conspiracy theory by the World Health Organization and relevant institutions. Many \u201calternative\u201d YouTubers at the time spread dangerous disinformation during a global health crisis in which millions around the world were dying, and timely, accurate information was a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Semir Osmanagi\u0107, founder of the \u201cArchaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun\u201d Foundation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the ideas behind the gathering, Osmanagi\u0107 further explains, is for channel owners to meet and introduce themselves to each other, creating space for future collaboration. The media Osmanagi\u0107 promotes here, according to him, offer an \u201calternative\u201d to what he calls the \u201cmainstream media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about criticism that these outlets promote conspiracy theories, Osmanagi\u0107 responds that it is important for people to have access to different kinds of information. In his view, \u201cmainstream media\u201d are under control, and he labels outlets like CNN, BBC, and RTL as examples of \u201cleftist fascism.\u201d \u201cWe live in a world mostly run by monsters who politely call themselves elites,\u201d Osmanagi\u0107 says, explaining his worldview. \u201cPeople need to have a choice,\u201d he concludes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We agree, and make our own choice: hungry and tired, we leave the event. Although we didn\u2019t hear thrilling presentations that explain everything through the lens of an endless conspiracy, but only one sparse talk for which we waited more than four hours, we walk away with a clearer picture of the people who come to Osmanagi\u0107\u2019s tunnels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside devoted believers in conspiracy theories and mysticism, we also saw those who merely flirt with spirituality, as well as complete skeptics. This diversity, in part, helps explain the popularity of both the complex itself and Osmanagi\u0107 as a figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, although we didn\u2019t feel any special energy in the valley, we gained a better understanding of those who believe they did. Reality may be the same for all, but our perceptions of it can be vastly different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our arrival at the Ravne 2 park in Visoko was anything but organized: we were late, got lost, and had no set plan. Still, it paled in comparison to the disarray of the event known as \u201cAlter Media.\u201d \u201cNew media, for new times, with new, bold, and courageous people.\u201d That\u2019s how the festival Alter Media […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[37,610,611,205,600,598,612,599,597],"class_list":["post-11462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-bosnia-and-herzegovina","tag-bosnian-pyramid","tag-bosnian-pyramids","tag-istaknuto","tag-pyramid","tag-semir-osmanagic","tag-tunnel-ravne","tag-visocica","tag-visoko"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11462"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11906,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11462\/revisions\/11906"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seecheck.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}