Coalition for Media Freedom warns of fake Serbia's Juzne Vesti website

Early in February, the website appeared on the address www.južnevesti.info, as obvious plagiarism of the already well-known local media. The website used the same name, logo, design and colours as the original media, the Coalition statement said.

"The only difference between these two websites is the content. The fake Juzne Vesti's reports are not in the public interest neither the website respects the Code of Journalists of Serbia, "but is a part of the propaganda machinery set by the current government to discredit journalists and political opponents."

The Coalition strongly condemned attacks on the Juzne Vesti editor-in-chief Gordana Bjeletic, whom the fake portal accuses of "lying and information manipulation," adding "she has the task to overthrow the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Nis".

"The aggressive campaign against Bjeletic followed real Juzne Vesti's reporting on the discriminatory behaviour of the Nis Mayor Dragana Sotirovski, who said that she would no longer give statements to the media which additionally comment on them," the Coalition said.

It added that "tabloids discredit independent journalists daily in Serbia, even in this way. It's clear the state is not interested in dialogue and cooperation with the journalists, nor it wants to protect them and provide them safe working conditions, but to silence all critical voices still existing in the country."

The Coalition recalled the case of Juzne Vesti fake website was not the first such in Serbia. It added journalists had managed to discover the domain of similar websites' owners in the past and linked them to people close to the authorities, but those cases had never been processed.