How FIMI/DIMI works: information manipulation surrounding protests in Serbia

On June 30, 2025, a story with the title “Riots in Serbia” was posted on the YouTube channel of the Belarusian private-state TV channel ONT.
In which the following was said:

In Serbia, protesters announced the beginning of a total blockade of roads. Barricades in the capital and in 18 other cities. Opponents of the current government call for early parliamentary elections, demand the dismantling of the tent camp in Belgrade deployed by supporters of the president. Mass actions for the second night in a row. Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, in his address to the nation, stated that the unrest is managed exclusively from abroad. 80 protesters were detained, about fifty police officers were injured. Provocateurs are operating in the crowd. The scenario is familiar and well-tested in other countries. The wave against the government was launched back in November. Then the formal reason was the tragedy in the city of Novi Sad. 16 people died under a concrete canopy that collapsed at the station

Our verdict based on the conducted analyses:

Verdict: Uncertain

Reasons:

• Evidence for the claim, quotes, or events is absent or insufficient. However, there is insufficient evidence that they are false.
• These are rumors or assumptions.
• Cause-and-effect relationships are assumed, although there is only correlation of facts or data.
• The investigation is not yet complete.
• This is a research topic on which there is still insufficient knowledge.

Fact-checking rating scale

Full video:

Let’s conduct analysis for FIMI/DIMI signs and basic fact-checking.

Since the beginning of July 2025, Serbia has been swept by mass protest actions. The authorities call protesters “provocateurs,” claim that the “scenario is familiar and well-tested in other countries,” and directly state “external management.” These formulations are not just political rhetoric. They reproduce mechanisms of information influence known as FIMI (Foreign Information Manipulation and Interference) and DIMI (Domestic Information Manipulation and Interference). Let’s analyze how these tactics work using the example of a specific text fragment and check the facts on which it is based.

Signs of FIMI/DIMI in the text

“Provocateurs are operating in the crowd. The scenario is familiar and well-tested in other countries”

This fragment contains signs of both external and internal manipulative narrative:

Similar rhetoric is repeated in the headline “Riots in Serbia”, which incites alarm without providing context (who is protesting, why, on what scale). This is a technique of escalation typical of FIMI.

📌 Brief text analysis

1. Emotional headline — the term “riots” sets a negative frame without clarifying who is protesting and for what reason. (FIMI: alarming mobilization)

2. Opposition “people against power” — the discourse omits the causes of protests (corruption, police violence, consequences of the Novi Sad tragedy) and forms polarization. (DIMI)

3. “External interference” as explanation — classic FIMI technique for undermining protest legitimacy and justifying repression.

4. References to the Novi Sad tragedy — used as emotional background without revealing the connection to protesters’ demands.

5. Repetition of clichés (“provocateurs,” “scenario”) — works to reduce trust in street mobilization and describes it as artificial.

Fact-checking: what is confirmed and what is not

The text “Riots in Serbia” is an example of a hybrid information strategy combining truthful facts with manipulative insertions aimed at:

• discrediting protests;
• justifying force actions;
• mobilizing loyal audience;
• undermining trust in civil society.

This approach corresponds to FIMI/DIMI methodologies actively studied and recorded in the international disinformation monitoring environment. Its repeatability in countries with authoritarian political models testifies to the transnational character of these narratives.