Russian Propaganda in the Western Balkans: The Telegram Channels Case

This report analyses recent and so far insufficiently explored forms of extremism in Serbia, with a particular focus on anti-system extremism, the role of the Telegram digital platform and the instrumentalisation of environmental issues.

The analysis explores how far-right Telegram channels instrumentalise opposition to the Rio Tinto project and lithium mining in Serbia to amplify their pre-existing nationalist and anti-Western narratives.

For the population of Serbia, this issue is exacerbated by the existing problems of galloping privatisation and destruction of public goods, especially natural resources. In the last decade, two sides of the environment have emerged and intensified in the local public.