Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Capitol Hill Politics

Serbian President tells Twitter to ‘Delete my account!’

Serbian President tells Twitter to ‘Delete my account!’, Transatlantic Today
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic with national flag and flag European Union speaks at a press conference in the presidency, Belgrade

(Washington Insider Magazine) -Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has issued a challenge to Twitter to close his account after the social network labeled several Serbian media outlets as state-affiliated.

“I can’t wait for them [Twitter] to close my account, so I become another Trump in the world,” he said as reported by the Associated Press. “Who should they cooperate with tycoons, thieves and criminals? It is most normal that they cooperate with the government.” 

Twitter muzzled former U.S. President Donald Trump at the beginning of the year at the height of protests in Washington on Jan. 6 when Congress was supposed to confirm the electoral vote after his loss. Trump’s defeat ended in the U.S. Capitol Building being stormed and hundreds arrested. Serbia’s Vucic received support from Trump’s Special Envoy to the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue Richard Grenell.

Twitter said the action was to prevent further violence. 

The social media platform has defined the term “state-affiliated” as “outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.” 

More than 10 media outlets and newspapers in Serbia have been branded this way. This has led to Vucic stating that the labeled media sources were “spreading freedom-loving ideas,” ABC news reports.

Serbian State television also commented, calling Twitter’s decision “political,” stating that in an act of protest it would stop posting content on Twitter’s network. A pro-government tabloid called the Informer called the move “a war propaganda machine,” Euronews reports.  

Vucic has for much of his 10 years in power maintained a tight grip on the media, utilizing them as government mouthpieces that criticize the few remaining independent media outlets as propagators of Western ideology and as being owned by the opposition or by foreign embassies. 

To date, Twitter has labeled accounts in the U.S., China, France, Russia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as state-affiliated.

You May Also Like

Society

Is it illegal to drink at work? As the holiday season approaches, the festive spirit sweeps across workplaces, bringing with it the allure of...

Capitol Hill Politics

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae.

Society

New York (Washington Insider Magazine) — Is watching bestiality illegal? The topic of bestiality, defined as the act of a human engaging in sexual activity...

Europe

Russia (Washington Insider Magazine) -Ukrainian officials have spoken of establishing territorial defense units and partisan warfare, but they admit that these resources are insufficient...