Journalists’ associations in Serbia have strongly condemned coordinated bot attacks targeting the Instagram accounts of independent media outlets, calling on relevant authorities to launch an immediate investigation and identify those responsible.
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Vojvodina (NDNV) and the Journalists’ Association of Serbia (UNS) warned that temporary suspensions and permanent shutdowns of media accounts on Instagram represent a serious threat to media freedom and the public’s right to information.
According to NDNV, the Instagram accounts of independent newsrooms, including Autonomija and VOICE, as well as outlets such as Radar, Zoomer, Nova, Nova S and N1, have been subjected in recent weeks to massive bot-driven attacks and unexplained account suspensions.
“These are not isolated technological incidents, but coordinated attempts at digital sabotage targeting independent media that critically report on issues of public interest,” NDNV said in a statement.
The association emphasized that systematic attacks on media accounts on social networks represent a new form of pressure and censorship, occurring amid increasing threats, smear campaigns and legal pressure against independent journalism.
NDNV stressed that digital platforms, particularly social media, are essential for timely, direct and professional reporting, especially in environments where traditional media channels face growing restrictions. Any limitation or shutdown of independent media accounts constitutes an unacceptable attack on media pluralism and citizens’ right to be informed, the statement added.
The organization called for a thorough and urgent investigation into the bot attacks and account suspensions, as well as effective protection of journalists and independent media from digital manipulation and sabotage. It also demanded greater transparency from Meta and other digital platforms, including clear explanations for account suspensions and concrete measures to protect professional media profiles.
NDNV expressed full solidarity with all affected newsrooms and urged domestic and international media freedom organizations to closely monitor the situation and respond to attempts to digitally silence independent voices.
Meanwhile, UNS called on the police and the public prosecutor’s office to urgently determine who is behind the attacks on the Instagram profiles of Radar weekly and the Nova.rs portal, which resulted in temporary suspensions and the permanent deletion of Radar’s Instagram account.
UNS explained that Instagram typically suspends or disables accounts when its systems detect a sudden and unnatural increase in followers, a mechanism designed to prevent abuse. In these cases, however, the surge was caused by coordinated bot attacks using fake profiles.
According to Nova.rs, the number of followers on its official account rose from 204,000 to over 244,000 within just a few hours, before dropping by nearly 30,000 in the following days, clearly indicating artificial and manipulated growth.
UNS urged authorities to identify those responsible as soon as possible and inform the public about the results of the investigation.
