DISINFO: The US wants to train Serbia in Russophobia
SUMMARY
The United States is trying to make Serbians dislike Russia in every way possible. Washington decided to spend 220,000 USD to retrain Serbian media in a response to Moscow’s aid for Belgrade in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The “retraining” includes debates, hackathons, fight against “disinformation” and work with journalists.
RESPONSE
A recurring pro-Kremlin narrative about the US presence in Europe aiming to encourage Russophobia. The training programme refers to the US Embassy in Serbia’s Media Training & Development Funding Opportunity 2020. The objective of the programme is “to fund individual projects that support the strengthening of the Serbian press and ensure the free flow of accurate information to keep Serbia’s citizens informed.” Applicants are invited to submit proposals along with six themes: journalism training and education, managing news outlets, expanding public debate, diversity of views, countering disinformation, and media freedom/role of the free press in a democracy. The US Department of State and the US Embassy in Serbia have consistently supported free media through various initiatives in the past such as, for example, the Investigative Journalism Awards. The Embassy has also released a number of other funding opportunities for public affairs including English language programs and democracy commission small grants among others.