September 2, 2024
The spinning of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, with the claim that “tens and hundreds of millions of euros are pouring in” to Serbia from Western countries, linked to mass protests over announced lithium mining in Western Serbia and intended to bring the president down, provided a signal to senior government politicians, national media companies and an army of social media bots to launch another dangerous campaign targeting non-governmental organisations and professional media companies with fresh accusations that they are mercenaries – this time working for America’s National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
The media outlets and NGOs that are being attacked include KRIK, the Slavko Ćuruvija foundation, BIRN, CRTA, KOMS and others, all of which are accused of receiving funding from the NED, which is presented as some kind of crime in its own right, with accusations
The NED has also been accused of undermining other countries, while pro-government daily newspaper Politika has reported that the NED sponsored anti-government protests in Serbia and interfered in election processes.
