Life in Kosovo as experienced by Serb citizens remains largely misunderstood and distorted, primarily due to the way it is portrayed by media outlets in Serbia, according to regional journalists and analysts.
Journalists Tijana Uzelac and Marija Popović from BIRN (Balkan Investigative Reporting Network) warn that Serbian citizens lack a clear and accurate picture of everyday life in Kosovo, as a result of systematic disinformation and one-sided reporting.
“Disinformation comes mostly from the media,” Uzelac explains.
According to her, people living in Serbia do not have a realistic understanding of what life in Kosovo looks like, with political actors serving as the main sources of misleading narratives. At the top of this list, she says, is the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), followed by other political parties.
Uzelac adds that Serbian citizens often know little to nothing about the daily lives of different communities in Kosovo, unless they have direct personal contact with people living there.
“Their perception is distorted through media reporting. If they rely solely on the media, they cannot gain a complete understanding of how Serbs or Albanians live in Kosovo, nor of interethnic relations,” she emphasized.
Marija Popović, also from BIRN, pointed out that the dominant narratives promoted in Serbia are intentionally one-sided and politically driven.
“The media picture is such that information is exclusively one-sided. We do not have the real picture. The narrative promoted in Serbia suggests that Serbs are never responsible for anything, and that someone else is always to blame,” Popović said.
Journalists across the region stress the urgent need for stronger media literacy and systematic fact-checking. However, Popović notes that the public often lacks the tools and knowledge to distinguish between credible journalism and political propaganda.
“In Kosovo, Serbia, and Albania, we are still not sufficiently educated when it comes to verifying the information we receive,” she stated.
According to the BIRN journalists, without independent and responsible media, Serbian citizens will continue to live in a distorted reality, heavily influenced by the political interests of the ruling party and media aligned with it.
