Actual attacks on journalists, Jelena Zorić, Belgrade, 14.06.2026.

IJAS •︎ Posted on

Actual attacks on journalists, Jelena Zorić, Belgrade, 14.06.2026.

Translations: Beograd 

  • Case info

  • Personal info

  • Regional center
    Belgrade
  • Who was attacked?
    Journalist
  • Gender
    Woman
  • Victim(s) name
    Jelena Zorić

  • Media outlet

  • Name of the media outlet
    BIRN
  • Type of media platform
    Online Media
  • Source of information about the incident
    Jelena Zorić

  • Incident Data

  • Date of incident
    14.06.2026
  • City
    Beograd
  • Were authorities informed?
    Case was reported to the Prosecutor’s Office
  • Perpetrator(s)
    Not known
  • Attacked by
    Organized groups
  • Means of incidents and attacks
    Other means of incidents and attacks
  • Type of incident
    Actual attacks on journalists
  • Type of attack
    Other forms

  • Action by the authorities

  • Legal status of the case
    The procedure is in the phase of gathering information about all the circumstances of the case
  • Type of violation
    Hacker attack
    Other

  • Action taken by the journalists' association

  • Was journalist's association informed by the journalists directly?
    Yes
  • What was the reaction of the journalists' association?
    The association reacted publicly
    The association provided legal support

Journalist Jelena Zorić was the subject of an internet fraud designed by unknown persons who used the journalist’s identity.

According to the information published by BIRN Serbia, these are sponsored internet ads that direct citizens to media manipulation published on a page that imitates the appearance of BIRN’s website. In that announcement, a non-existent investment fund is promoted, with the aim of getting citizens to leave their personal data and invest money.

The scam used a fabricated statement attributed to journalist Jelena Zorić, as well as a non-existent photo created using artificial intelligence tools.

The journalist found out about the fraud after the members of her family were contacted by senior citizens for days, asking them if she could help them with the alleged profit provided to them by the state.

BIRN collected available information about the fraudulent website, reported the ads to the platforms and sent the report to the Prosecutor’s Office for High-Tech Crime.