Balkan independent media in the crosshairs after US funding freeze  

Donald Trump’s decision to cut foreign US aid, which affected independent media in the Balkans, has caused far-reaching consequences, leading to a surge in online attacks, smear campaigns, and political pressure on critical outlets. 

The funding cuts, which affected organisations that supported media freedom, investigative journalism, and civil society, weakened independent media’s ability to counter disinformation and state-backed narratives.

In Serbia, where press freedom has been in steady decline, pro-government tabloids and online platforms seized the opportunity to intensify attacks on independent journalists. Without the financial backing that previously helped sustain critical reporting, many outlets faced increased pressure from both state institutions and pro-regime media. 

Smear campaigns labeled investigative journalists as “foreign agents” or “enemies of the state,” further fueling an environment of hostility.

Many local media experts agree that the US aid freeze not only weakened independent journalism in the Balkans but also strengthened authoritarian tendencies in the region. Without external financial support, many independent outlets will struggle to survive, allowing pro-government media to tighten their grip on public discourse. 

Vuk Maras, executive director of BIRN Crna Gora, the leading investigative media in Montenegro, said the US has always been a strong supporter of media freedoms in the region and played a significant, if not the most important role in supporting independent and objective journalism. 

“In the environment when media freedoms are declining and where local politicians attempt to capture as many media as possible, support from developed, democratic countries is more important than ever,” he noted.

Maras, who faced the same accusations himself and was accused of being a “foreign agent” by top ruling parties’ politicians in the past month, said disinformation campaigns from malign foreign actors can only be fought with objective, impartial and credible journalism. However, he believes that after internal consolidation, the US will continue to provide assistance to independent media and investigative outlets.

“This is not only important since it deters malign foreign influence, but also as it is the most important anti corruption mechanism. And independent media and investigative outlets are main subjects which are dealing with those problems continuously,” Maras told The Fix. 

USAID cut fuels crusade against media in Serbia

The funding freeze occurred amid a broader decline in press freedom across the Balkans. Serbia, for example, witnessed increasing media consolidation under government influence. Independent outlets faced lawsuits, economic pressure, and threats, limiting their ability to operate freely. 

All this intensified in recent weeks after the announcement of the termination of USAID funds.

Serbian ex-prime minister and current speaker of parliament, Ana Brnabic, told local media that “so-called investigative media outlets financed by USAID had greatly damaged Serbia in a systematic manner.” She went further saying Serbia would investigate the spending of USAID funds if the US authorities made such a request.

“You can see that those media outlets and the people working there were quite dependent… not on a US administration elected by American citizens, but on what is referred to as the deep state,” Brnabic said.

Addressing the pro-government supporters during the national holiday rally on February 15, Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic targeted some investigative journalists and civil society and said that many projects were funded by “this criminal organisation, a criminal organisation called USAID that Trump said was a criminal organisation.” 

“They invested three billion together with others to overthrow Serbia and to overthrow a strong president,” he told a rally.

“It is a terrifying attack on our country, with huge resources, but their colored revolution failed. Tell them in USAID, NED and EED that it is over and Serbia has won. You will never win over Serbia,” Vucic said. 

Veran Matic, the chair of Serbia’s Commission for the Investigation of Murders of Journalists, told The Fix that for professional media and journalists in Serbia, unfortunately, this is not a new situation. 

Matic said they experienced it in the 1990s and later, as the regime used various international developments as a pretext for attacks. 

“However, this now appears to be a much more serious assault, involving not only politicians but also the national security agency, BIA, and the anti-money laundering agency, which is investigating the operations of NGOs and nonprofit media that received funding through USAID. These findings are then leaked to pro-regime media and tabloids,” Matic told the Fix.

In Serbia, Matic adds, the situation is further complicated by the fact that all this is happening amid mass student anti-corruption protests that began in November. 

“This is being exploited, with professional media being linked to the organisation of protests or opposition parties.This is making our situation in Serbia even more difficult,” said Matic. 

The Balkan Free Media Initiative, BFMI, also warned that in recent weeks the ruling party has intensified its efforts to target and discredit independent media, attempting to silence journalists. 

In addition, international media watchdog, Reporter without Borders, RSF, said that professional media in Serbia are regularly subjected to physical attacks and that journalists have been on the front line of “the violence inflicted by police and supporters of Serbian President Vucic” during the anti-corruption protests and the organisation demands that the authorities end this violence and punish those responsible.

Far-right media get central stage in the Balkans

Many of the attacks throughout the Balkan region were sparked by comments from Richard Grenell, the US presidential envoy for special missions, who said that “billions of dollars have been given to left-wing NGOs” to implement policies in other countries.

Grenell reposted a local media post on the social network X about how much money the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has allegedly spent in the Western Balkans, calling it “reckless spending”.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a separatist leader of Republika Srpska entity Milorad Dodik, said that out of ​​402 million dollars, which Bosnia received from USAID in four years, “…it came to 150 million and the other 250 million was spent on black operations”. 

It was echoed in Moscow. “It is devastating that the USAID directly subsidized Albanian state structures, in order to create a pro-American layer in Tirana,” said the spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova on February 14.

In Montenegro and North Macedonia, many ruling parties’ politicians used the same narratives to attack investigative media and civil society activists. An influential pro-government website published a piece titled “Make Montenegro Great Again!” saying that such organisations were promoting foreign interests and “suppressing any authentic form of civic values ​​and policies” but also opposing “religious freedoms and values, directed primarily against Orthodoxy.”

In North Macedonia, a pro-government outlet published a series of articles targeting investigative outlets in the country saying that USAID paid tens of millions for “Soros Foundation projects, left wing media outlets and pro-censorship groups.” 

Sashka Cvetovska, editor in chief of the main investigative outlet in North Macedonia, IRL, took to social media on February 21 and said that her accounts will be temporarily disabled for security reasons including increased harassment and stalking, but other types of pressures and threats. 

“I am writing this to avoid speculation that my break from social media was due to “fear of Mask’s discovery of USAID” and “orders from Washington to stop talking.”

“Are we affected by the frozen funds? Yes. Is that too hard? Are we going to stop working? Nope. I have a voice and I plan to use it for as long as I am physically on this planet. Me and my colleagues,” Cvetkovska posted. 

Hard blow to media, broad solidarity needed  

Turning back to funding issues, Matic is very concerned about the future financing of professional media in Serbia and the region, and how they will manage to survive. Layoffs and staff reductions have already begun.

He also highlights the case of Serbia’s leading investigative media outlet specializing in organized crime, KRIK, whose newsroom is practically under siege due to 19 SLAPP lawsuits filed by top local politicians, judges, and convicted criminals.

“This is a direct assault on them,” Matic emphasizes.

That is why he calls for solidarity among professional media, not only in Serbia but across the region, as well as with international media and civil society.

“Now, more than ever, we need solidarity,” he stressed.

Source of the cover photo: Mauro Gigli via Unsplash

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