Journalists' Association of Serbia informed international journalistic and media organizations about false news on RTK

Journalists' Association of Serbia (JAS) informed the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), as well as seven other international media and journalistic organizations, that false information, which was the trigger for an event known to the global public as the March Pogrom 20 years ago, had been published again on the website of Radio Television of Kosovo in Serbian and Albanian languages.

JAS reached out to IFJ, Article 19 organization, the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), Free Press Unlimited, OBC Transeuropa, Reporters Without Borders, the International Press Institute (IPI), and the SafeJournalists network, and yesterday to the EFJ President Maja Sever, as stated in the announcement on the Journalists' Association website.

JAS informed the aforementioned journalistic and media organizations that in RTK's news regarding the anniversary of the March Pogrom, it had been stated that three Albanian boys had drowned in the Ibar River "while fleeing from a group of Serbian young men." JAS emphasized that this information had sparked unrest on March 17, 2004, resulting in the deaths of 19 people, the destruction of 39 churches and monasteries, the burning of villages and urban areas, the beating and mistreatment of over 900 individuals, and the expulsion of around 4,000 Serbs.

In the communication, it was also mentioned that following JAS's reaction, the news on the RTK website was amended, attributed to "correction after a previous unintentional technical journalistic mistake." However, JAS pointed out that the information had omitted that the violence on March 17, 2004, had been directed against Serbs, while the remaining formulation had stated that "property and hundreds of private Albanian properties were destroyed."

JAS also conveyed to the international organizations that more than fifty employees of the RTK2 TV channel in Serbian and the Serbian editorial office of RTK1, including the director, journalists, editors, cameramen, editors, and others, had distanced themselves from the controversial text, demanding an investigation into professional responsibility regarding it.

"We emphasize that the false news is unsigned, the editorial board does not stand behind it, it is unknown who the author is, but the RTK management, as in many other cases, imposes publications that the editorial board cannot influence," JAS stated in addressing IFJ and other media and journalistic organizations.