Great technological leaps have made organizing public gatherings much easier while making them more vulnerable to government interference. The developing concept of online or hybrid assemblies – here regrouped under the definition of digitally-mediated assemblies – is now acknowledged by international and regional human rights standards. The importance of social media in organizing gatherings in Serbia was highlighted in the 2022 Freedom House report, which also noted frequent misinformation campaigns resembling the government’s official narrative. The report noted that the online streaming of environmental protests opposed to the construction of hydroelectric power plants helped the movement amass more than 100,000 followers on social media.
Sociological research dedicated to digitally-mediated assemblies in Serbia noted significant obstacles to using social networks but also noted that together with the positive trend in the information society development, the closure of traditional media channels to the government’s opponents also favors social networks as an alternative. The researchers also noted that many social and political movements have already based their activism online and use the internet as a means of information, communication, and mobilization.
