Serbian media outlets targeted by coordinated bot attacks

The Association of Independent Electronic Media (ANEM) has warned of coordinated bot attacks targeting the Instagram account of the news portal Mašina and several local media outlets in Serbia. These attacks involve a massive influx of fake followers, a tactic suspected of being used to trigger automatic account suspensions by Meta for ‘inauthentic behavior.’

Similar incidents occurred earlier this year, affecting various journalists, activists, and organizations such as Nova.rs, Radar, and Crta. While many accounts were restored following civil society intervention and communication with Meta, the recurrence of these attacks suggests a persistent pattern of digital censorship.

In addition to bot attacks, some local media have reported direct cyberattacks involving unauthorized file uploads, altered access credentials, and the posting of malicious links. ANEM has called for urgent action from authorities to identify those responsible and prevent the shutdown of professional media communication channels during the current pre-election period.