Serbs lap up propaganda
Belgrade – After 12 years together, it was Russian propaganda that finally ended Liubov Maric’s marriage to her Serbian husband.
The Ukrainian admits they had been having difficulties but after the invasion of Ukraine in February, things began to spiral, as her husband lapped up vast amounts of Russian propaganda.
The man she had once fallen in love with was no longer recognisable, she said, even forbidding their son from listening to Ukrainian folk music, calling it the work of “Nazis”.
“I had hoped for support and understanding, but he started blaming everyone but the Russians,” Maric, 44, told AFP.
Shortly thereafter she packed her bags, and despite the war, returned to Ukraine.
Kremlin propaganda has found a willing audience in Serbia, where simmering hatred towards Nato and the US has led many to side with Moscow.
While most of Europe has sought to clamp down on Russian news outlets, they flourish in Serbia, where even state-backed media often parrot the Kremlin line.
“I think the truth is somewhere in between, but nobody is reporting it. So I follow both Russian and Western media and try to read between the lines,” said Dario Acimovic, a 27-year-old graphic designer.
“[The West] have cut off Russian media, so they don’t get to hear the other side. All you get as a result is hysteria.”
Under the rule of President Aleksandar Vucic, Serbia’s media has increasingly been forced to toe the government line, while the few remaining independent outlets have faced sustained pressure from authorities.
During the run-up to the war, Serbia’s leading tabloid, Informer, printed numerous gushing articles praising Vladimir Putin, along with a cover story two days before the invasion with the headline: “Ukraine has attacked Russia”.
“Serbia’s pro-government propaganda outlets created Putin’s personality cult that even surpasses the one they built for Vucic,” said Dinko Gruhonjic, associate professor of journalism at the University of Novi Sad.
“He enjoys a practically divine status,” he added.
According to a poll by Belgrade-based democracy watchdog Crta, two-thirds of the population feels “closer” to Russia.