Gurakuç Kuçi of the Octopus Institute has reacted strongly to what he describes as “new comparisons” being used by Serbian propaganda against Kosovo, citing Venezuela, Greenland and Somaliland as the first three examples of such narratives this year.
According to Kuçi, Serbian propaganda attempts to link almost every international development with Serbs and Kosovo — regardless of the real context — in order to challenge Kosovo’s independence and distort facts. He noted that Serbia itself had turned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the United Nations for an advisory opinion on Kosovo’s declaration of independence, and that the ICJ’s response was unequivocal, but “Serbian regimes only accept the truth when it suits them.”
Kuçi argued that this refusal to acknowledge facts and the rewriting of reality reflect denial and cognitive dissonance, which in the sociopolitical realm translates to revisionism, propaganda and manipulation. He criticized the creation of propaganda videos that portray the world metaphorically as “beasts” — for example, using a penguin to represent the world as ignorant — while depicting Serbs as the “knowledgeable” ones teaching others.
“The psycho‑sociological condition of the Serbian regime and hundreds of pro‑government propaganda pages online reflect a broad campaign to manipulate both Serbian and international audiences,” Kuçi wrote on social media.
Kuçi also quoted Serbian academic Dobrica Ćosić, citing his alleged phrase: “A lie is a form of Serbian patriotism.” He acknowledged that there are people in Serbia who still maintain reason, but warned that if Serbian society does not stop this “propaganda suffocation,” it risks being dragged down with it, concluding with a call to “save Serbia from itself.”
