November 16, 2023
Daily newspaper Danas has found itself targeted twice in quick succession, having faced insults and slanderous claims from members of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and tabloid publications closely associated with the government.
Tabloid newspapers and SNS officials immediately began attacking and defaming Danas following its republishing of an Al Jazeera interview with Albanian journalist Fahri Musliu.
A similar witch hunt was launched after the recent publishing of an article in Danas under the headline “An Albanian in Belgrade: Who is Fahri Musliu, whom Vučić says is not his father?”. The article was published after Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić made a guest appearance on national television and, without any apparent reason, mentioned gossip launched long ago by an obscure newspaper, and occasionally repeated on social media, alleging that Musliu is Vučić’s biological father, a claim that Vučić has denied on repeated occasions.
At no point does the Danas article claim that Musliu is Vučić’s father, yet high-ranking party members and state officials from the ranks of SNS nonetheless attacked the newspaper. Apart from the usual labelling and insults, one minister even went as far as to say to the newspaper’s editors: “You will pay for this!”
