What are the ways information and disinformation circulate among media outlets in Serbia and does that influence public narratives? Through our research report How Do We See Ukrainian Refugees in Serbia, we attempt to provide answers and formulate a methodology for investigative journalists and researchers to recognize agenda-setting.

The primary objective of the research is to analyze how Serbian media outlets portray Ukrainian refugees and identify disinformation narratives in news coverage. Using systematic data collection and analysis methods, we traced how these narratives evolve and spread across different media sources, measuring their impact on public discourse.

Who is it for?
  • Media researchers
  • Investigative journalists
  • Activists

Through media monitoring and sentiment analysis, we applied AI-assisted data analysis to evaluate the emotional tone of coverage, while topic modeling helped identify key reporting themes. By implementing deduplication techniques, we can track how different outlets present the same news items in varying contexts - whether positive or negative - revealing patterns in media bias and potential coordinated narrative campaigns. This research aims to provide a foundation for understanding the mechanisms of disinformation spread and its effects on refugee representatio in Serbian media.

What will you discover?
  • A replicable methodology of sentiment analysis -- applicable at the scale even for small research teams
  • The ways in which Serbian media sources and republishes reports on refugees from Ukraine and the topics relating to the war in Ukraine more broadly
  • Recommendations for ethical reporting

 

See how we have done it and find out the results:

Download the complete report here.

 

This research is supported through the Digital Activism Program by TechSoup Global.