Several web portals have reported claims from the public broadcaster RTRS that “global media” have described the authorities in Republika Srpska as “unwavering guardians of peace and the Dayton Agreement”. However, these “media” are actually a few anonymous web portals in German and English that mimic the appearance of legitimate news outlets.
Photo: Raskrinkavanje.ba
The media extensively reported on the political crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina after the President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, signed decrees in early March 2025 to enact a law banning the activities of state security and judicial institutions within the entity’s territory. This came after the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina issued a temporary measure suspending these laws until a final decision is made regarding their compliance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
On March 11, Radio-Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS) published a text on its web portal about the reporting of “global media” on these developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the following headline:
Global Media: Republika Srpska, Guardian of Peace and the Dayton Agreement
The article presents reports from “global media” featuring statements from Milorad Dodik, who claimed that security threats do not originate from Republika Srpska but that provocations, threats, and the real instigators of the crisis come “from Sarajevo”:
Amid rising political tensions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska maintains its stance, portraying itself as an unwavering guardian of peace and the Dayton Peace Agreement, accusing Bosniak leaders and foreign forces of inciting instability, reported global media.
The President of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, has dismissed claims that Srpska poses a security threat, instead pointing to a series of provocations and threats from Sarajevo as the real drivers of the recent crisis in the country, reported foreign media.
In addition to several statements attributed to Dodik, the article includes claims from Republika Srpska’s media about an “attack on Serbs working in joint institutions in Sarajevo”, an allegation mentioned in a non-paper sent to European diplomats by the BiH Presidency member, Zeljka Cvijanovic. The non-paper also included claims that Hamas and Hezbollah flags were displayed in Sarajevo on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Independence Day, March 1, which were reportedly covered by “world media”.
The article also features statements from Milorad Dodik rejecting accusations of separatism against Republika Srpska’s leadership, asserting that the new laws merely defend the entity’s autonomy in accordance with the Dayton Agreement. At the same time, it warns against the rhetoric of Bosniak leaders and alleged threats of using the Armed Forces against Republika Srpska.
The “world media” cited by RTRS in the article are Neue Berliner Zeitung, Frankfurter Handelsblatt, and New York Mirror. According to RTRS, the original article was published by Neue Berliner Zeitung, and the other two outlets republished it.
Apart from RTRS, the claims about “world media” coverage were also published by the web portals Faktor Magazin, Princip News, and Prijedor 24h. However, the web portal Banjaluka (.net) has since removed the article containing these claims.
“Global” Anonymous Media
Articles portraying Republika Srpska as a “guardian of peace and the Dayton Agreement” were published on the three aforementioned foreign web portals on March 11, 2024. At the time of writing this analysis, they were no longer accessible (1, 2, 3).
Neue Berliner Zeitung and Frankfurter Handelsblatt, the two “global” web portals that published these articles in German, resemble established newspapers such as Berliner Zeitung and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in both name and appearance.
However, all three web portals are anonymous, they do not have an imprint with ownership details or information about editorial board members. Interestingly, the description of the Neue Berliner Zeitung web portal at the bottom of the page is written in English, while the content is in German.
An analysis of the Neue Berliner Zeitung’s domain shows that it has been active since January 27, 2025, which can be considered the domain registration date. At the time of writing this analysis, the Facebook and Instagram pages of this “media outlet” were not available.
The domain of the Frankfurter Handelsblatt web portal has been active since August 7, 2024. This “global media outlet” has no followers on its Facebook page, and its Instagram profile is unavailable. According to the transparency data of the Facebook page, it was created on January 10, 2025, and the page description states that the “media” is based in Austria.
The Embassy of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Germany announced on March 12, 2025, that the media outlets referenced by RTRS do not exist in that country.
On the other hand, the domain of the New York Mirror web portal was registered earlier, on June 3, 2024. According to Whoxy service data, the domain was registered by Roger Stone, an American lobbyist, Republican strategist, and longtime advisor to Donald Trump. The registrant’s location is listed as New York.
The Facebook page of this web portal was created in November 2024 and has over 1,900 followers. On the other hand, the web portal’s Instagram profile was created in 2021 and has around 836,000 followers. The content posted on the profile is not characteristic of a news web portal. It mainly consists of posts related to astronomy. However, the profile information states that it was created in 2021, with Italy listed as the primary location.
Additionally, the profile has changed its name once, and according to tags in previous posts, it can be concluded that it was previously called astro.voyagers. This is also confirmed by a Google search of the Instagram profile name, which now redirects to posts from the New York Mirror profile. This suggests that the astro.voyagers profile was transferred or sold for the purpose of the New York Mirror web portal.
Data from the Wayback Machine internet archive shows that only a few initial pages of all three web portals have been archived so far (1, 2, 3), further confirming the conclusion about their short existence, based on domain registration data and recent activation.
According to DNSlytics service data, the domains of all three web portals were registered to the same IP address, along with 24 other domains. This does not necessarily prove that the same person or group of people is behind the web portals, but it suggests a possible connection. Ownership details for the German web portal domains (.de) are only available under certain conditions, so it is not possible to fully verify any connection through a shared registrar.
In addition to the fact that the infrastructure of these web portals shows they are neither reliable nor relevant, their reporting is particularly problematic when it comes to relaying unverified claims from media in Republika Srpska about “attacks on Serbs in Sarajevo”, as well as Zeljka Cvijanovic’s claim that flags of Hamas and Hezbollah were featured in Sarajevo. As confirmed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton for Radio Sarajevo, no reports of these alleged incidents were recorded.
The term “global media” usually refers to established, widely known media outlets that report on world events. Based on all the information provided, presenting recently created anonymous websites as “global media” is unfounded. On the other hand, media such as Reuters, AFP, and DW have reported on Milorad Dodik’s destabilizing actions and the passage of laws that obstruct the work of state judicial and security institutions, describing the situation as a “threat to peace” in the region.
An analysis of the claim about “global media” reporting on Milorad Dodik’s statements has also been published by our partner web portal Raskrinkavanje from Montenegro.
Therefore, the claim that credible global media reported the authorities in Republika Srpska as “unwavering guardians of peace and the Dayton Agreement” is considered a manipulation of facts.
(Author: Amar Karađuz, Raskrinkavanje.ba)
