Almost every second citizen of Montenegro (46,9 percent) believes that the Government of Montenegro is spreading disinformation, about a fifth (21,3 percent) do not believe so, and a third (31,8 percent) have no opinion on the issue.
This is according to a public opinion poll conducted for the CDT by the Damar Institute between February 22 and March 4 this year on a sample of 1.008 respondents.
The statement states that the survey showed that as many as 78,8 percent of citizens believe that politicians often (39,7 percent) or at least occasionally (39,1 percent) use disinformation to achieve their political goals, and that a smaller proportion say that this happens rarely (7,9 percent) and never (3,5 percent), while 9,8 percent have no opinion on the matter.
"When asked which politician spreads disinformation the most in Montenegro, the largest share of citizens (28,4 percent) explicitly claims that 'all politicians without exception' do so. Almost every second citizen (46,9 percent) believes that the Government of Montenegro spreads disinformation, about a fifth (21,3 percent) do not believe so, and a third (31,8 percent) have no opinion on the issue. The vast majority of citizens (about 70,7 percent) believe that disinformation strongly or very strongly influences the political decisions that citizens make, while 21,9 percent say that the influence is "weak", and the remaining 7,4 percent do not see any influence," the CDT statement, signed by Marko Vukajlović, a journalist for the Raskrinkavanje.me portal, a CDT platform whose primary goals are to oppose media manipulation, increase the quality of media content, media literacy of readers, and respect for professional standards in the media scene, is emphasized.
For two-thirds of citizens, disinformation is a problem
The CDT said that the survey showed that about two-thirds of citizens (65,4 percent) believe that disinformation is a problem in Montenegro, that in contrast, a quarter (25,7 percent) do not believe that disinformation is a problem, and that 8,9 percent have no opinion on the issue.
"In the survey we conducted in 2023, almost the same number of citizens said that disinformation is a problem (65,7 percent) and that it is not (24,9 percent), with 9,4 percent of them saying they don't know," said the CDT.
The non-governmental organization (NGO) stated that citizens still most often cite Serbia (25,4 percent) as the country from which disinformation comes to Montenegro, followed by America (16,7 percent), EU countries (8,6 percent), Russia (7,6 percent), while a quarter of citizens said they did not know the answer to that question.
"Compared to 2023, the percentage of citizens who mention Serbia as the country from which disinformation most often comes has decreased (34,2 percent in 2023), and there is an increase in the mention of the EU (3,4 percent in 2023) and a slight increase for Russia (6,1 percent in 2023). The number of citizens who see America as a source of disinformation has slightly decreased (18,8 percent in 2023)," the statement reads.
The CDT said that when asked why disinformation is most often spread, the largest number of citizens cited political manipulation and influence on state decision-making (30,5 percent), economic interests, earnings from clicks and advertisements (20,9 percent), deliberate incitement to panic and insecurity in society (19,9 percent), and the aim of undermining trust in institutions and the media (15,4 percent).
"We asked citizens what the main factors are that contribute to the spread of disinformation in Montenegro, and a third told us that it is "the excessive influence of social networks", about a quarter cite political polarization and the lack of media literacy, 17,4 percent of them cite the lack of independent media, and a very small percentage (1,3 percent) cite some other specific reason. Slightly more than a third of citizens (37,5 percent) believe that social networks and traditional media play an equal role in the spread of disinformation. At the same time, 36,2 percent attribute a greater role exclusively to social networks, and 11,4 percent to traditional media. 14,9 percent of citizens did not answer this question," the CDT statement reads.
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