Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released a list of 34 “press freedom predators” who, throughout 2025, have threatened journalists and the right to information. Among them is Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic.
What RSF says about Aleksandar Vucic and Serbia’s media landscape:
In October 2025, the European Parliament adopted a resolution severely criticizing President Aleksandar Vucic’s government. The document reads that smear campaigns, fuelled by pro-government media and Vucic supporters, incite physical violence against journalists and protesters. RSF reported that propaganda is thriving. RT Balkan, a Kremlin-backed outlet based in Belgrade with the support of the authorities, launched its own TV channel at the end of 2024.
What Vucic says:
“What Nova S and N1 are doing is pure terrorism, and we are waiting to see what the prosecutor’s office will say – we are still waiting.”
His weapon: using state agencies to attack journalists.
Who else is on the list
The list includes those who have relentlessly persecuted the media for years – the Chinese Communist Party with Xi Jinping at its head, Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman, Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko. All of them once again distinguished themselves in 2025 with their unrestrained persecution of journalists and media.
Also included in the list are the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), responsible for the deaths of nearly 220 journalists, Myanmar’s State Peace and Security Commission and Burkina Faso’s military junta, led by Capt. Ibrahim Traore – equally adept at silencing those who report independently, said RSF.
In Mexico, the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) emerged in 2025 as the country’s most violent criminal organization and one of the most formidable predators of journalism.
In 2025, those who prey on press freedom are also distinguished by their increased use of technology to restrict the freedom to report the news. While Xi Jinping uses Chinese chatbots to disseminate state propaganda, Elon Musk uses his social media X to harass journalists, and the IDF, already responsible for the deaths of hundreds of journalists, conduct online smear campaigns to discredit journalism.
In the section of the report dedicated to Vucic, RSF noted that during the many protests sparked by the deadly collapse of a train station on 1 November 2024, 89 journalists were attacked, a record in Europe.
Besides Aleksandar Vucic, the list includes:
Haibatullah Akhundzada, Taliban supreme leader in Afghanistan, Vladimir Putin (Russia), Danijel Ortega (Nicaragua), Alexander Lukashenko (Belarus), Ilham Aliyev (Azerbaijan), Ali Khamenei (Iran), Nicolas Maduro (Venezuela), Viktor Orban (Hungary).
Israel Defence Forces, Chinese Communist Party, Myanmar State Security and Peace Commission, Mohammed bin Salman (Saudi Arabia), Military junta (Burkina Faso), Jalisco New Generation Cartel (Mexico).
Brendan Carr (United States), Foundation Against Terrorism (Guatemala), Seng Heang (Cambodia), Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey), John Lee Ka-chiu (Hong Kong), Roskomnadzor (Russia), Adani Group (India).
Alphabet and Meta (United States), Bidzina Ivanichvili (Georgia), Vladimir Tabak (Russia), Alden Global Capital (United States), William Ruto (Kenya), Vincent Bolloré (France), Elon Musk (United States), Honest reporting (Israel), Margarita Simonian (Russia), OpIndia (India), Javier Milei (Argentina), Robert Fico (Slovakia).
Source: N1
