The campaign of discrediting on social media, sexist attacks, and threats to journalists’ safety in North Macedonia

AJM •︎ Posted on

The campaign of discrediting on social media, sexist attacks, and threats to journalists’ safety in North Macedonia

Translations: Skopje 

  • Case info

  • Personal info

  • Regional center
    Skopje
  • Who was attacked?
    Organization
  • Organisation name
    IRL, 360 stepeni, BIRN - PRIZMA

  • Media outlet

  • Name of the media outlet
    IRL, 360 stepeni, BIRN - PRIZMA
  • Type of media platform
    Online Media
    Other

  • Incident Data

  • Date of incident
    26.02.2025
  • Were authorities informed?
    Case was reported to the police
    Case was reported to the Prosecutor’s Office
  • Perpetrator(s)
    Not known
  • Attacked by
    Public person(s)
  • Means of incidents and attacks
    Posts or comments on social networks
  • Type of incident
    Threats against the lives and physical safety of journalists
  • Type of threat
    Explicit - to journalist(s)

  • Action by the authorities

  • Action taken by the journalists' association

  • Was journalist's association informed by the journalists directly?
    Unknown
  • What was the reaction of the journalists' association?
    The association reacted publicly
    The association sent a letter of concern to the institutions
    The association informed international organizations and institutions
    The association provided legal support

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) and the Independent Union of Journalists and Media Workers (SSNM) strongly condemn the public posts by the former editor of a national television station, Dragan Pavlović Latas, who in recent days, through a private Facebook page, has been targeting journalists from several media outlets, misusing private photos from their profiles and using them in his posts.

Among the targeted media outlets are the Investigative Reporting Lab (IRL), 360 Degrees, BIRN Macedonia, as well as other organizations working on human rights protection.

In his posts, Latas spreads unfounded accusations and conspiracy theories aimed at discrediting journalists and media outlets that professionally report on relevant social issues. This strategy of targeting and publicly stigmatizing journalists, who have received national and international recognition for their work under different governments, represents a serious attack on freedom of expression and independent journalism in the country.

It is particularly concerning that such rhetoric not only incites hate speech but also leads to serious threats against journalists, with female journalists becoming a specific target of sexist and misogynistic attacks in the comments under Latas’ posts.

“These are whores, there is no work from them,” “these are not even people to comment on, you can see them at a truck stop parking lot,” “I think there will soon be destruction of documents or planted fires in the premises of these paid prostitutes..”, “and it would be best if they burn together with the documents!” are just some of the comments.

In addition, some of the threatening comments under posts on Dragan Pavlović Latas’ profile come from social media accounts of individuals with criminal backgrounds and controversial figures, which further raises concerns about the safety of journalists working in these media outlets.

We remind social media users that endangering journalists’ safety is a criminal offense, as is the spread of hate speech, for which Macedonian courts have established case law imposing strict sanctions.

At the same time, we call on the public to recognize and condemn such attempts to discredit and endanger journalists, and we urge the relevant institutions – the Ministry of Interior and the Public Prosecutor’s Office – to react urgently and take measures to protect media freedom and journalists’ safety.