''Informer'' is a Serbian

tabloid newspaper A tabloid is a newspaper with a compact page size smaller than broadsheet. There is no standard size for this newspaper format. Etymology The word ''tabloid'' comes from the name given by the London-based pharmaceutical company Burroughs We ...

based in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

. It is known for its

political bias Political bias is a bias or perceived bias involving the slanting or altering of information to make a political position or political candidate seem more attractive. With a distinct association with media bias, it commonly refers to how a ...

in favor of the ruling

Serbian Progressive Party The Serbian Progressive Party ( sr-cyrl, Српска напредна странка, Srpska napredna stranka, SNS) has been the ruling political party of Serbia since 2012. Founded by Tomislav Nikolić and Aleksandar Vučić in 2008 as a s ...

(SNS) and its

sensationalist In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emo ...

stories. The newspaper has been accused of spreading

disinformation Disinformation is false information deliberately spread to deceive people. It is sometimes confused with misinformation, which is false information but is not deliberate. The English word ''disinformation'' comes from the application of the ...

and sensationalism. As of 2016, it claims without documentation to be the highest-circulation daily in Serbia, alleging over 100,000 copies distributed daily. The newspaper addresses politics,

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

and

world news World news or international news or even foreign coverage is the news media jargon for news from abroad, about a country or a global subject. For journalism, it is a branch that deals with news either sent by foreign correspondents or news agen ...

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...

, health, and

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

s. It practices

yellow journalism Yellow journalism and yellow press are American terms for journalism and associated newspapers that present little or no legitimate, well-researched news while instead using eye-catching headlines for increased sales. Techniques may include ...

. It is notorious for publishing false information, as well as for insulting and discrediting

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Aleksandar Vučić Aleksandar Vučić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар Вучић, ; born 5 March 1970) is a Serbian politician serving as the president of Serbia since 2017, and as the president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) since 2012. Vučić serve ...

's political opponents. It publishes articles with

chauvinist Chauvinism is the unreasonable belief in the superiority or dominance of one's own group or people, who are seen as strong and virtuous, while others are considered weak, unworthy, or inferior. It can be described as a form of extreme patriotism ...

and

sexist Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

biases.

Controversies

In 2015, ''Informer'' manufactured an international scandal by publishing screenshots of a porn video starring American

pornographic actress A pornographic film actor or actress, pornographic performer, adult entertainer, or porn star is a person who performs sex acts in video that is usually characterized as a pornographic movie. Such videos tend to be made in a number of dis ...

Diamond Foxxx, with accompanying text that falsely alleged the stills were from a

sex tape Amateur pornography is a category of pornography that features models, actors or non-professionals performing without pay, or actors for whom this material is not their only paid modeling work. Reality pornography is made porn that seeks to e ...

featuring the

President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the President of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Predsjednik Republike Hrvatske), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within t ...

Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović (; born 29 April 1968) is a Croatian politician and diplomat who served as President of Croatia from 2015 to 2020. She was the first woman to be elected to the office since the first multi-party elections in 1990 and ...

. This was "sharply condemned" by Serbia's

Ministry of Culture and Information The Ministry of Media ( ar, وزارة الإعلام) is one of the governmental bodies of Saudi Arabia and part of the cabinet. The main function of the ministry is to regulate the media of Saudi Arabia and the communications between Saudi Ara ...

, which called for sanctions, as well as by MP Azra Jasavić of neighbouring Montenegro, where the newspaper is also published. Jasavić called for changes in law to prevent ''Informer'' from its "brutalisation of women", whom Jasavić said are targeted by the tabloid. In 2019, ''EU vs Disinformation'' reported that ''Informer'' was one of the foremost Serbian sources of false narratives and warmongering in 2018. According to Serbian

investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...

portal ''Crime and Corruption Reporting Network'', more than 700

fake news Fake news is false or misleading information presented as news. Fake news often has the aim of damaging the reputation of a person or entity, or making money through advertising revenue.Schlesinger, Robert (April 14, 2017)"Fake news in reality ...

items were published on the front pages of pro-

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

tabloids during 2018, led by ''Informer.'' Many decried invented attacks on Aleksandar Vučić or attempted coups, as well as supposed messages of support from

Russian president The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

. In 2020,

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

shut down a network of 8,500 bots that spammed 43 million tweets; the bots fawned over President Vučić and his party, boosted pro-Vučić content, and attacked his political opponents; ''Informer'' links were among the most frequently spammed. On 22 February 2022, two days before the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, ''Informer'' published a large headline saying that "Ukraine has attacked Russia". In late September 2022, ''Informer'' published an interview with a

serial rapist A serial rapist is someone who commits multiple rapes, whether with multiple victims or a single victim repeatedly over a period of time. Some serial rapists target children. The terms ''sexual predator'', ''repeat rape'' and ''multiple offending ...

Igor Milošević, who had just been released after having served 15 years in prison. Milošević sent messages to women of Serbia which were widely seen as controversial and that led to citizens' protests, during which ''Informer''s editor-in-chief Dragan J. Vučićević was physically attacked.

Notes

External links

* Newspapers published in Serbia Newspapers established in 2012 2012 establishments in Serbia Mass media in Belgrade {{Serbia-newspaper-stub

Controversies

See also

Notes

External links