July 2022.
As part of the Regional Initiative in Combating Disinformation “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: Exposing Malign Influences through Watchdog Journalism”, we present you a new analysis of fake news and disinformation narratives.
We are coming for your children
https://vaseljenska.net/2022/07/24/dolazimo-po-vasu-decu/
The pro-Russian portal Vaseljenska.net, transmitting Russian media, publishes a text with a dominant anti-European and anti-Western narrative. European and Western values are associated with pedophilia and child abuse.
The portal writes that during the first six weeks of the “Russian special military operation” in Ukraine, at least “a dozen pedophiles left Britain for Poland under the excuse of providing humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees”. The portal sees the humanitarian work of caring for children left without parental care as “pedophile hunting”.
The reason for writing this, based on Russian sources, was the hearing of ten men from the UK who were interviewed by Polish immigration authorities. As reported by the British Independent, the persons did not report to the authorities, as they should have, whether they had previously been convicted in the UK. The Polish authorities immediately deported the men back to the United Kingdom.
As the Independent wrote, since the persons violated the rules of both countries, considering that as convicted of such crimes they had to report their travels outside the UK, they were immediately deported back and did not come into contact with Ukrainian children without parental care. Portal Vaseljenska did not mention that, but further in the text it listed examples of pedophile scandals that are common.
The names of American presidents such as Bill Clinton are also mentioned. Without citing specific sources or countries, the portal states that “the West is increasingly hearing calls for the legalization of pedophilia”, and that it is increasingly noticeable that “that behind such calls are people with sexual deviations, perverts.”
The portal concludes that this is true based on the statement of “transgender Allyn Walker” from the, little-known to the Serbian public, Old Dominion University in the USA. He allegedly called for the legalization of pedophilia and its transfer to the category of sexual orientation.
“Sexual abuse of children is never normal. But attraction to minors as long as the child is not affected in any way does not mean that the person who has this attraction is doing something wrong,” the portal quotes a little-known American University professor. It is said that such a view is increasingly present in Europe, and the names of university professors and doctors whose influence in European countries is questionable are also used for such claims.
In addition to the anti-Western sentiment, an anti-gay narrative runs throughout the text. This can be seen first of all in the fact that the portal quotes statements that justify pedophilia, noting that such an attitude is held by gay or transgender professors, doctors, analysts… This fits into the broader narrative of the pro-Russian, anti-Western and anti-gay media in Serbia, which associate the rights of the LGBTQ+ community with pedophilia and the destruction of family values.
This news by Vaseljenske.net was also conveyed by other less popular portals in Serbia such as Nulta tačka, Prst.rs and Vojvodina uživo.
Author: Sofija Popović