ANEM reports cyberattacks and cloned media sites in Serbia

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has reported a series of cyberattacks and disinformation tactics targeting independent media outlets in Serbia.

VranjeNews has been subjected to a second cyberattack this year, which has prevented the editorial staff from publishing new content despite the site remaining accessible to readers. This follows a period of intense pressure on the outlet, including threats of physical violence and disturbing messages directed at the families of staff members. Editor Dejan Dimić noted that the attack appears to be a bot-driven attempt to disrupt reporting.

Additionally, ANEM warned of the emergence of cloned websites designed to impersonate professional news organizations such as N1 and Vreme. These fraudulent portals use similar domains and visual identities to automatically scrape and republish content from legitimate sources, mixing professional reporting with tabloid content. ANEM describes these cloning efforts as a mechanism for political control intended to confuse the public and undermine the credibility of critical media outlets during pre-election periods.