News-from-the-media

01. 08. 2024.

Statement of the journalist section of the Permanent Working Group for the Safety of Journalists: Escalation of attacks on journalists

The campaign waged against Tamara Skrozza, through misrepresentations and horrendous tabloid interpretation of her statement that she called for the assassination of the president, most seriously threatens the safety of this journalist.

By misrepresentation in the context of the assassination of the president, following the example of TV Pink and Vecernje novosti, on its cover page, tabloid Informer drew a target on one of the most honorable, ethical and the most consistent journalists in Serbia. This opened a hunt, with the aim of intimidating her, newsdesk of Fonet, where she works as deputy editor-in-chief, journalists who are engaged in professional journalism. This created an atmosphere that the anger of every mentally unstable person or simply a person who wants to protect the president from an attack that did not even exist in Tamara Skrozza's mind is justified, and that any kind of retaliation is justified. Based on earlier examples, Tamara will go through a barrage of disturbing, vulgar, disgusting, pathological messages, which will directly affect her mental and general state of health.

As if by a rule, female journalists are more often chosen as targets because it is possible to use a much wider range of terrifying illicit actions against them.

They are also chosen because of the perception that they are weaker, more sensitive, and otherwise more exposed to discrimination and mobbing. Those who, like Tamara, very principledly, exceptionally, stand for respect for the basic postulates of journalistic ethics, especially in the parts that concern the most vulnerable, are also chosen as targets.

Moreover, Tamara was chosen because she is particularly vulnerable because she has been fighting an incurable disease with incredible strength and persistence for years, raising her child alone, without complaints but with the awareness that her experience can help others, which is why she selflessly spoke about her disease countless times and ways to fight with it. She did it so many times that it is impossible for those who have organized this outrageous campaign of lies not to know who they are actually attacking - a single, terminally ill but incredibly brave and dedicated mother. Both freelance and professional journalist.

At this point, your mind simply freezes, when it becomes clear to you that you intend to beat yourself up with words and lies, like Slavko Ćuruvija was killed after one such chase, like Milan Pantić was killed with a stick, not words, like the attempted murder of Milan Jovanović , by burning down his house.

For a long time now, we have noted the pernicious influence of tabloids, which start a spiral of violence, misinformation, ripped out quotes, completely fabricated statements, which turns into a spiral of evil through social networks, and through the statements of politicians who condemn what was not even said, it returns to the tabloids, and then back to the social networks.

Completely identical raids are regularly conducted against dozens of journalists, and these are cases in which, at any moment, a drastic escalation of violence can be expected.

That is absolutely unacceptable.

Mechanisms for the protection of journalists must be enabled, precisely at that first moment, when false information is formed on the basis of which security threats arise.

When a threat or an attack has already taken place, then it is only a struggle with consequences, very often with the dominance of impunity, which only encourages the perpetrators, both those who initiate the chase and those who turn it into threats and attacks.

The permanent working group for the safety of journalists, its journalistic section, provides strong support to Tamara Scrozza and the Fonet editorial office. We invite all state institutions to jointly create a mechanism that will prevent the escalation of threats and attacks at the very beginning, already at the stage when the ground and motivation is created for them by publishing false and falsified information or quotes taken out of context, which creates a completely untrue narrative.

If this is not done, the number of such attacks will increase every day, and every day we will sink more and more when it comes to the freedom of journalists to carry out their work professionally in the interest of all of us.

This will completely abolish state concern for the public interest, for objective, impartial information, and in such a society, everything that is happening to Tamara today, will happen to every citizen. You can be sure of it.