The tabloid Informer leads in the number of false articles about Russia and its president Vladimir Putin, but the disinformation database also includes the portal Pink.rs, Večernje Novosti, Kurir, Mondo, B92, Srbijadanas.com, Sputnik Serbian, Politika, Alo, Srbin Info and several others.
Publications from these media are found in the database EU vs Disinfo, a database of media outlets whose articles about Russia have been found to contain various manipulations and disinformation. The articles are available to the public, as well as explanations of why they were assessed as disinformation, i.e. what is inaccurate or manipulative in them.
The tabloid Informer, in addition to spreading pro-regime propaganda, is also known to be very sympathetic to Russia and the Russian president, which editor Dragan J. Vučićević does not dispute. However, it was disturbing that they found themselves in the EUvsDisinfo database, a media database in which various manipulations and disinformation were observed in their texts about Russia. More precisely, they claim that the database was created almost to record manipulations related to the war in Ukraine, but that it contains Informer texts from 2019 that have nothing to do with Ukraine and that the EU is trying to “demonize” them. However, this is not true – the database has existed since 2015, and since then numerous manipulations have been recorded by them, but also by other media outlets such as Informer, Pink, Večernje Novosti, Kurir, B92, Sputnik and other media outlets, ”writes Unmasking.
This database has been around since 2015 and was established by the European External Action Service (EEAS), the EU's diplomatic service. Since then, it has been recording disinformation in various European media outlets about Russia. As they say on their website, the focus of their base is on “messages in the international information space that have been observed to present reality partially, distortedly or incorrectly and spread the main messages of the Kremlin.” "However, this does not necessarily mean that these media outlets are connected to the Kremlin or that their editorial policy is pro-Kremlin, or that they deliberately wanted to misinform." , they express on the page of this base.
The EUvsDisinfo project website states that they were created in response to disinformation campaigns emanating from Russia that "affect the EU, its members and neighbors."
“Our core goal is to raise public awareness and understanding of the Kremlin’s disinformation operations, as well as to help citizens in Europe and beyond develop resistance to media manipulation.”, says the EUvsDisinfo website.
The EUvsDisinfo database has so far collected more than 12,000 pro-Kremlin disinformation pieces. As they say, their team working on disinformation control does not aim for opinions favorable to Russia or against the EU, nor does it blacklist anyone, but rather, they deal with facts and disinformation. “Disinformation is verifiable, inaccurate or manipulative information that is created, presented and disseminated for economic gain or for the purpose of deliberately misleading an audience and that may cause harm. Harm includes threats to democratic processes or public goods such as public health, the environment or security. Disinformation does not include unintentional errors, satire and parody, or (…) commentary.” , it says on the page.
In addition to Informer, the disinformation database also includes the portal Pink.rs, Večernje novosti, Kurir, Mondo, B92, Srbijadanas.com, the Serbian edition of Sputnik, Politika, Alo, Srbin Info and several others. The texts from the database are available to the public, as well as explanations of why they were assessed as disinformation, i.e. what is inaccurate or manipulative in them.
Since its inception in 2017, Raskrikavanje has recorded several manipulative or inaccurate claims by Informer in articles about Russia or Vladimir Putin. The Russian president is presented exclusively positively in this tabloid and is one of the most frequent faces on the front pages. As one Raskrinkavanje's latest analysis, from early February to late July of this year, Putin appeared on the front pages on average every third day.
Six daily newspapers – Informer, Srpski telegraf, Kurir, Alo, Večernje novosti and Objektiv, published a total of 987 fake, unfounded and manipulative news items on their front pages in 2021, according to an analysis by UnmaskingAt the same time, the publishers of these tabloids received almost one million euros from the budget last year.