no. 07-00-280/2023-02 date: 8.11.2023.

OPINION

The opinion was adopted in the proceedings regarding the complaint filed by the Association of Citizens “AA” against the Independent Daily Newspaper “BB”, namely the editor-in-chief VV and GG, the responsible editor of this media. In the complaint and supplement to the complaint, among other things, it was stated that Independent Daily Newspaper “BB”, in number 2,288 of Tuesday, May 16, 2023, published an article with the title “Albanians are poisoning our children – selling juice that causes cancer”, and that such a title leads to the creation of prejudices against all Albanians, regardless of their personal characteristics and incites hatred towards this social group. Given that the editor-in-chief of the Independent Daily Newspaper “BB”, against whom the complaint was filed, did not respond to the allegations in the complaint within the legally prescribed deadline for submitting a statement, nor until the end of this procedure, the Commissioner, bearing in mind the rule on redistribution and shifting the burden of proof, which is prescribed by the provisions of Article 45 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, when making an opinion in this case, took into consideration the allegations of the complaint and the evidence submitted with the complaint. During the proceedings, it was established that in the printed edition of the Independent Daily Newspaper “BB”, dated May 16, 2023, an article was published with the title “Albanians are poisoning our children – selling juice that causes cancer”, in which, among other things, it is stated that Serbia imports “Jaffa Champion” juices from Kosovo and that these juices contain the artificial sweetener cyclamate, which is on the list of substances in the European Union due to research that showed that it causes testicular and bladder cancer and other health problems. Furthermore, it was stated that cyclamate is allowed in Serbia in a concentration of up to 2,500 milligrams per kilogram, but that specifically, on the juice of the company “DD,” there is no data on the amount, i.e., the share of sweeteners in the product, and it is pointed out what harmful consequences its excessive intake can have. Bearing in mind the above, it can be stated that the title is sensational and has no connection with the rest of the text. Furthermore, considering that the amount of cyclamate present in the juices of the company “DD” is unknown from the text itself, it is unclear how the conclusion was reached that the amount of this substance is above the permitted maximum, bearing in mind that the text states that “on this occasion, they approached the Ministry of Agriculture, whose inspection is in charge of food safety control, but we did not receive an answer until the conclusion of the number”. Although it can be concluded from the entire content that the author of the text intended to inform the readers about the harmful effects of artificial sweeteners, primarily “cyclamate”, the Commissioner points out that the emphasis on nationality in the title of the text is entirely irrelevant and does not contribute to a better understanding in any way the topic that is dealt with in the text but in this way, the attention, in a negative context, is linked to the Albanian nationality and creates a hostile environment for them. Namely, in the very title of the text, serious accusations were made against a whole group of people who are connected by the same personal characteristic, which generalized and stigmatized the entire group of people and spread hatred towards members of the Albanian nationality. If the author of the text wanted to draw the attention of the readership to a specific product, it was necessary to do so in a non-discriminatory and non-stigmatizing manner. Criticism or analysis of the product should be based on facts and arguments, not on generalization or negative labeling of a specific national group and spreading and inciting unfounded and unnecessary fear and intolerance, especially bearing in mind that the accusations made are placed in the context of the most sensitive group of persons – children. When issuing the opinion in this case, the Commissioner had in mind the provisions of Article 12, paragraph 1 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, which, among other things, prohibits harassment, humiliating behavior that aims at or represents a violation of the dignity of a person or a group of persons based on personal characteristics, and especially if it creates a intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and offensive environment. In addition, the Code of Journalists of Serbia stipulates that a journalist must be aware of the danger of discrimination that can be spread by the media as well as that belonging to a specific ethnic, political, ideological, or other group should be stated only in cases where this information is necessary for complete understanding of the context of the event being reported. The Commissioner for the Protection of Equality fully supports the freedom of the media and their duty to report on all events that the public has a right to know about, that is, to provide information and report in the spirit of their editorial policy. However, it is very important that when publishing texts, care be taken to do so in a way that respects everyone’s dignity and the right to non-discrimination. Bearing in mind all of the above, the Commissioner issued the opinion that by highlighting national affiliation in the title of the text that was published in the printed edition of the Independent Daily Newspaper “BB” number 2288 of May 16, 2023, which reads: “Albanians are poisoning our children – selling juice that causes cancer”, the provisions of Art. 12. and about Article 24 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. The Commissioner recommended the Independent Daily Newspaper “BB”, as well as VV, the editor-in-chief and GG, the responsible editor of this media, not to publish headlines, as well as texts, i.e., discriminatory content that aims at or represent a violation of the dignity of a person or group of persons based on nationality as a personal characteristic, both Albanian and any other nationality or any other personal characteristic in compliance with the law, especially if it creates a a intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and offensive environment.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković