Katja Lihtenvalner
1 min readSep 9, 2020

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In Slovenia, we have been witnessing the spread of hatred and intolerance for several years. One of the main sources is the media connected to the Western Balkan network of propaganda factories, which are indirectly managed by Viktor Orban.

These media spread intolerance towards sexual and ethnic minorities, and with lies, half-truths and distorted news they bring discord and mistrust into society. They receive money for their operations from various sources, including the Ministry of Culture and the advertising budgets of majority state-owned companies.

What can we citizens do in the fight against hatred and propaganda lies, how should state authorities react and what has happened in this area in recent years? How is it possible that the multi-year spread of hatred is financed with public money and that nothing changes in this area?

Discussion (in Slovenian) with director of Citizen D, Slovenian NGO fighting for promotion of human and digital rights accessible here: https://vimeo.com/455758169?fbclid=IwAR14IIS83PvkqLryw5CGA6nGXPusTcUzRcKy60Yc6JKCfISPOzCMjsdn3F8

Some examples of hate speech towards Slovenian editor and journalist, Jelena Ascic. Ascic belongs to Balkan diaspora in Slovenia and is regularly receiving hateful messages regarding her origins.

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Katja Lihtenvalner

Journalist. Greece, Western Balkans #PoliticalExtremism #HateSpeech #FakeNews Head of Research at RusaalkaFilms Monitored #GDtrial I train #MuayThai