As anti-government protests swell in Belgrade, pro-government media outlets in Serbia are stepping up a disinformation campaign accusing protestors of “savagery” and pinning violence on pro-Russian groups, 5G conspiracists, and right-wing groups.

Triggered by President Aleksandar Vucic’s re-introduction of a curfew scheduled for three days this weekend, the protests, now spreading to other cities, are widely seen as a rejection of the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and simmering anger against the president. 

Authoritarianism in Serbia has been on the rise under Vucic and his Serbian Progressive Party. Democracy watchdogs have documented attacks on independent media, electoral fraud and corruption. Two weeks ago, opposition parties boycotted parliamentary elections, and the president is broadly accused of a wholesale hijacking of Serbian pluralistic democracy.

While thousands of Serbs gathered for two consecutive nights in front of parliament in Belgrade, Serbian social media have been flooded with videos of police using batons against protestors. One independent TV station captured the beating of a journalist by police after he identified himself as a reporter.