Media: Three Decades of Struggle between Dialogue and Hate Speech

European Commission

The existing institutional framework aside, Serbia has been struggling for more than three decades to discover a boundary between dialogue, as a precondition of democracy, and hate speech that leads to violence, says an analysis published by the Belgrade-based Media Center on Dec. 18.

An article, Hate Speech – Circle of Hell, analyzes the media situation in Serbia over a period spanning three decades, starting with what preceded the warmongering rhetoric of the 1990s to more recent phenomena and all of the missed opportunities to create a quality media community.

The analysis provides examples of abuse, highlighting the inefficiency of media laws, the legal and institutional frameworks created precisely to prevent hate speech in the media, suggesting that punishment cannot help, but that qualified consumers of media content can.

The document also notes that numerous reports released by international organizations speak of the prevalence of hate speech in Serbia and impunity, including the European Commission’s report on Serbia's progress in the accession process, which says that "Hate speech and discriminatory terminology are often used and tolerated in the media, and are rarely tackled by the regulatory authorities or prosecutors.”