AJM Urgently Requests Action on the Complaint Regarding Online Attacks Against “Sloboden Pechat”

The Association of Journalists of Macedonia (AJM) has sent an urgent request for information on the status of the proceedings following the filed complaint regarding a coordinated bot attack against the Instagram profiles of the media outlet “Sloboden Pechat”, addressed to the national focal point Mr. Muhamed Ismaili, Assistant Minister at the Department for Public Relations and Strategic Affairs within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This request follows the formal complaint submitted by AJM on 15 November 2025 to the Sector for Computer Crime and Digital Forensics within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, due to suspicions of coordinated abuse of the social media platform Instagram aimed at disrupting the media outlet’s operations and restricting the visibility of its content.

The case concerns a coordinated bot attack targeting the official Instagram profiles of “Sloboden Pechat”, during which mass suspicious interactions were recorded, including comments, likes, and follow requests, a significant drop in the reach of published content, and a well-founded suspicion of algorithmic visibility restriction (commonly referred to as a “shadow ban”). Due to the persistence of the attacks, the editorial team was forced to temporarily set some of the profiles to private to prevent further abuse.

During this period, AJM has provided institutional and legal support to the media outlet and has kept the competent authorities informed about the continuation of the attack and its impact on the newsroom’s daily operations.

Through the most recent request, AJM asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to provide information on the current stage of the investigation, the steps taken by the competent authorities, whether checks are being conducted regarding possible links between the activities and entities connected to the Republic of North Macedonia, and whether communication has been initiated with Meta / Instagram through existing international cooperation mechanisms.

AJM recalls that coordinated online attacks against media outlets pose a serious threat to freedom of expression and represent an indirect form of pressure on journalistic work, which is why a timely and institutional response is essential.

AJM encourages journalists and media workers to report all threats, pressure and attacks, including online attacks, through the SafeJournalists.net platform or directly to the Association, in order to ensure prompt response, institutional protection and public documentation of such cases.