On the 1st of August 2024, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, was involved in a diplomatic incident at Skopje International Airport. This incident sparked a lot of controversy in the media and received particularly strong reactions and hate speech from both Macedonian and Serbian outlets, writes Portalb.mk
What happened?
According to the statements of the authorities, the incident began when security at Skopje International Airport asked Vjosa Osmani to hand over her mobile phone for scanning, something which she refused to do, calling it a violation of international regulations and diplomatic protocols. The situation escalated when an airport official allegedly attempted to physically push Osmani, prompting her security team to intervene.
The statement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the case adds that half an hour later, three security officers who were employed by the President of the Assembly of North Macedonia, Afrim Gashi, arrived at the airport “and began to threaten airport staff and demanded to know who was causing problems for the president”, pointing weapons at the airport staff.
In a press release, Gashi’s office denied this, stating that members of his security “were merely present to de-escalate the situation” and to resolve a misunderstanding between Osmani’s team and airport security.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that they had launched a detailed investigation into the incident, after which a criminal complaint was filed against Gashi’s security.
Hate speech in the media surrounding this case
The incident with President Osmani aroused a lot of controversy in the media, and there were particularly harsh reactions from Macedonian media, some of which portrayed the incident to be a result of implementing a reasonable security measure, while others criticized it as a diplomatic scandal and a violation of international protocols.
Nonetheless, we believe it is more important to point out the hate speech that ensued. After the incident, hate speech in certain Macedonian media outlets and the comments that these posts provoked, obviously gaining an ethnic dimension, have become more present day by day.
In some Macedonian media outlets and online platforms, ethnically based hate speech has been identified, more specifically, on some forums and comment sections, derogatory terms targeting Albanians, including those from Kosovo, have been found. These comments often refer to historical conflicts and use offensive language to humiliate the Albanian nation.
At the same time, other media outlets portray the incident as a deliberate provocation by the president aimed at inciting conflict, rather than a diplomatic misunderstanding. These posts undermine her leadership ability and reflect an inclination to elevate herself above others.
In addition to this, there is hate speech that includes incitement to violence and threats. Some extremist voices called for punitive actions against ethnic Albanians, deepening hostility and fueling existing tensions among communities.
Examples of media in North Macedonia that encouraged hate speech
Immediately after the event, the news portal Infomax.mk published a series of posts suggesting that the incident was not a mere diplomatic misunderstanding, but a desire for ethnic reckoning, using speech that reinforces negative stereotypes about Albanians. One of these posts contained false information about the fact that the president had been carrying “a bag full of money and weapons” with her.
Furthermore, pro-government media outlet Alfa TV published a piece suggesting that the previous SDSM (The Social Democratic Union of Macedonia) and DUI (The Democratic Union for Integration) government had deliberately concealed identical cases in the past. It was a Facebook post under which a series of negative comments tinged with hate can be seen.
The newspaper “Sloboden Pechat” published an article with a provocative title: “Vjosa Osmani’s cowboy attitude and Afrim Gashi’s loose cannon behavior”, while a few days later it also published the cartoon of the week, where the main characters were these two with the author clearly playing with stereotypes and the subsequent polarization of communities.
Во меѓувреме, коментарите кои се поттикнати од ваквите медиумски реакции го потхрануваат истиот дискриминаторски и омаловажувачки дух. Ова може да се види во објавата на порталот Фокус за соопштението на партијата Левица за инцидентот, која го оцени како одраз на системското непочитување на институциите и законите, особено од страна на Африм Гаши. Овде, коментарите, освен што продолжуваат да ги напаѓаат Албанците врз основа на нивната етничка припадност, го нарушуваат и интегритетот на претседателката како жена, користејќи говор на омраза врз основа на полова припадност.
Experts confirm the inciting role of the media
On this topic, Petrit Saracini, a media expert and head of the Institute for Media and Analytics (IMA) in North Macedonia says that many media outlets neglected their important social role in reporting on the incident.
“The incident that occurred on the 1st of August, 2024 with the President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani at the Skopje airport once again showed that a significant part of the Macedonian- and Albanian-language media continue to create parallel media realities and have an ethnocentric and stimulating approach in reporting on topics that affect the relations between the two countries or the interethnic relations. Sadly, when reporting on this incident, many media outlets neglected their important social role and became instruments of certain political centers that tried to use this incident and the public’s emotions for political gains”, says Saricini.
Biljana Georgievska, the executive director of the Council of Media Ethics of Macedonia (CMEM), says that there is an increase in violations of Article 10 of the Code of Journalists, especially in online media.
“From CMEM’s experience I don’t get the impression that the concern of not spreading hate speech is at the top of the agenda of journalists and editors, especially not the obligation to regularly review and quickly remove toxic comments on social networks under the published information in the media. The CMEM statistics show a significant increase in violations of Article 10 of the Code of Journalists, especially by online media, in some media content or related comments. This is Article 10 which states that “A journalist shall not create or knowingly process information that threatens human rights and freedoms, shall not use hate speech and shall not incite violence and discrimination on any grounds”, she said.
The incident with President Vjosa Osmani also resounded badly in Serbia
Some online portals in Serbia took advantage of this incident and speculated about what had really happened, using provocative titles such as “Could it be drugs? Vjesa Osmani REFUSED to open the suitcase at Skopje airport! Weapons were also taken out!” (Faktor magazin), in order to portray the president as corrupt and a criminal, while keeping the manipulative narrative that Kosovo is a country in which even the official structures support crime, even when it comes to drugs.
Politiko titled its article on the matter “Could it be drugs? Vjesa Osmani REFUSED to open the suitcase at Skopje airport! Weapons were also taken out!”. Although other headlines were not as ill-intentioned, the comments that they provoked contained hate speech and stereotypes about the Albanian population in the Balkans and presented Serbia as a mother-state that will protect others from “Albanian savagery.”
We spoke with Fitim Gashi, a political journalist and researcher at Sbunker, a non-governmental media organization that provides analytical and substantive views on important political, economic, social, and cultural issues, about how the media has been reporting in Kosovo.
“While the mainstream media in Kosovo generally maintained a professional tone, some instances of hate speech did emerge, particularly on social media platforms. These included derogatory comments and inciting language directed at North Macedonia and its authorities. Social media reactions from some users expressed anger and frustration, sometimes escalating into nationalist rhetoric and negative stereotypes. The Presidency of Kosovo issued a strong reaction, which was widely covered by the Kosovo media expressing indignation over the “unacceptable statements” of the Macedonian Ministry of Internal Affairs and the “propaganda” being spread against Kosovo in some Macedonian media”, says Gashi.
Regardless of which side justice is on, it is evident from the above analysis that media played a crucial role in the escalation of the already tense situation. By selectively presenting content, the media not only fueled hate speech, but also turned the case into a platform for reinforcing ethnic tensions within the country and the region.
Hate speech is a criminal offence
The criminal code lists several crimes motivated by hate speech, including those committed over the Internet. The Law on Audio and Audiovisual Media Services prohibits the transmission of media content that incites or promotes discrimination, intolerance or hatred. The Law on Prevention and Protection from Discrimination prohibits incitement to discrimination and harassment on discriminatory grounds.
Written by Fjola Zlatku and Despina Kovachevska
