CEPROM: Aggressiveness, Sensationalism, Hate on the Rise in Media

BETAPHOTO/NENAD PETROVIC

Rising aggressiveness, sensationalism and hate are the reality of the media landscape in Serbia in 2024, according to a report released on Dec. 18 by the Center for the Professionalization of Media and Media Literacy (CEPROM).

"In just one day, eight daily newspapers and 20 of the most popular websites in the country publish an average of 698 texts containing at least some elements of aggressive communication, hate speech and sensationalism, which means that every media outlet publishes an average of 25 such texts in one day," reads the report Communication Aggression in Serbia 2024, based on research conducted from Sept. 1 to 30.

According to the CEPROM website, the results of the research show that in that one-month period 21,638 texts with elements of aggressive communication, hate speech or sensationalism were published in the most highly read online and print media in the country.

"This is an increase of 8.4 percent from 2019, when CEPROM conducted its first research into communication aggression in Serbia. This means that citizens getting their information from the most influential media outlets in the country are exposed to daily communication aggression, while at the same some completely new trends were noted in the way that aggression and extremisms of various kinds are practiced in the media," the report added.