as the primary motive; and political and state actors who spread disinformation via public and
commercial media outlets to mobilize support for their political agendas. Anonymous websites
account for two thirds of disinformation monitored by Zašto Ne?, spawned by an industrious
ecosystem of content production and dissemination on social media. The authors state, “The
congruence of media disinformation and specific political interests raises concerns over
targeted disinformation campaigns in the online sphere, some related to foreign actors and
sources” (Cvjetićanin et al., 2019).
Table 1: Organizational Form and Prevalence of Social Media Manipulation in Bosnia
and Herzegovina
Initial
Government
Politicians Private
Civil
Society Citizens &
Report
Agencies
& Parties
Contractors
Organizations Influencers
National News
x
x
Agencies
Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found.
Strategies, Tools, and Techniques
According to the Zašto Ne? researchers, more than 60% of online disinformation in BiH is
political in nature, focussing on the US administration and the EU, whose ‘value system’ is
often portrayed as undesirable for local cultures. Clickbait, fake news, disinformation, and
conspiracy theories are the most common forms of biased reports. Most activities seem focused
on sharing and further disseminating fake news (Cvjetićanin et al., 2019). Sputnik Srbija has
been particularly active in sharing narratives attacking the West, particularly the EU, since
2015 over six hundred articles have been shared, ranging from stories on the EU failing during
the refugee crisis to driving divisions between Balkan countries by depicting the Western
Balkans as a “battlefield” of the EU (EU vs Disinfo, 2020). Analyses reported on by Zašto Ne?
researchers also show that Sputnik Srbija tends to have a positive bias towards the Alliance of
Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), a Serbian nationalist and extremist party involved in
governing both entities of BiH (Cvjetićanin et al., 2019).
A majority of the targets of biased reporting in BiH are political parties, politicians, and
institutions. Moreover, about 60% of them are local. For the most part it appears that political
actors affiliated with the SNSD are presented in a positive light, while those in opposition with
SNSD are portrayed negatively (Cvjetićanin et al., 2019). Much of the activity within the
country seems comparably rudimentary, with disinformation being shared through news outlets
while there is no evidence of more sophisticated automated or data-driven strategies, though
no evidence does not mean such activities are not happening.
Table 2: Observed Strategies, Tools and Techniques of Social Media Manipulation in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Account Types Messaging and Valence
Content
and Platforms
Communication
Strategies
Human
Support
Disinformation
Attack Opposition
Amplifying Content
Driving Divisions
Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found.
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