Western Balkans media freedom and pluralism concerns

Media watchdog organizations in the Western Balkans continue to raise alarms regarding media pluralism, ownership concentration, and digital manipulation. In Bosnia and Herzegovina and North Macedonia, groups such as the Bureau for Social Research (BIRODI) and SafeJournalists have signaled a need for continuous monitoring of media reporting during election campaigns to prevent the misuse of public resources and hate speech.

BIRODI has announced plans to conduct continuous monitoring of election campaign reporting, intending to submit findings to regulatory bodies, including the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the Commissioner for Equality, to address discrimination and the misuse of public resources.

SafeJournalists has specifically highlighted the risks of cross-border media concentration, noting Telekom Srbija’s expansion in North Macedonia and questioning the sale of the Adria News Network (ANN), which includes outlets such as N1, Nova, Danas, and Radar. These organizations argue that such transactions must be evaluated based on their impact on editorial independence and public opinion diversity. They have called for greater transparency regarding ownership and financing, citing standards from the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).

In Albania, concerns have shifted toward the manipulation of social media. Following the temporary removal of journalist accounts by Meta, watchdogs reported surges in fake followers and coordinated abusive activity against public interest accounts, warning that automated platform systems can be exploited to undermine press freedom.