Serbia; Disinformation; Russia; Media; Authoritarianism

The disinformation campaigns of the Russian Federation have recently become the focal point of interest of many academics around the world. It is precisely Russian disinformation that serves the Kremlin to promote its strategic interests in international relations. The theoretical part of the study briefly defines disinformation, followed by the empirical part of the study, which presents how Russia informs about the war in Ukraine through its media outlets. The aim of this study is to point out how Moscow spreads these Russian narratives, what impact these pro-Russian narratives have on Serbian society, and last but not least, to show how Russia promotes its strategic interests through these narratives. The authors conclude that Moscow is succeeding in undermining the country’s pro-Western direction and also undermining Serbian democratic principles through its narratives, which is contributed to by the incompetent government headed by President Vučić.

The disinformation campaigns of the Russian Federation have recently become the focal point of interest of many academics around the world. It is precisely Russian disinformation that serves the Kremlin to promote its strategic interests in international relations. The theoretical part of the study briefly defines disinformation, followed by the empirical part of the study, which presents how Russia informs about the war in Ukraine through its media outlets. The aim of this study is to point out how Moscow spreads these Russian narratives, what impact these pro-Russian narratives have on Serbian society, and last but not least, to show how Russia promotes its strategic interests through these narratives. The authors conclude that Moscow is succeeding in undermining the country’s pro-Western direction and also undermining Serbian democratic principles through its narratives, which is contributed to by the incompetent government headed by President Vučić.