Acting on a complaint for violation of principle IV of the Code of Journalists in the text entitled "VIDEO SA NAVODNIM LIKOM MEDENICE: „Oglašavaću se svakoga dana dok me ne uhapse"", (Video with alleged image of Medenica: I will publish a post daily until I am arrested) published on the Standard portal on 2 February, 2026, the Complaints Commission of the Media Council for Self-Regulation makes the following decision
The Complaints Commission determines that the Standard portal, by removing the disputed content, accepted the allegations from the complaint and harmonized the text with professional standards. The Commission, however, also notes that at the end of the disputed text, a video was posted that leads to a new text on the Standarad portal entitled "Police Department: Medenica's video on social networks is manipulative and false" which contains the same offensive and vulgar text transferred from the social network, without editorial intervention or mitigation. In this way, principle IV of the Code of Journalists of Montenegro was violated, which obligates the media to nurture the culture of public communication and avoid publishing offensive expressions that are not necessary for understanding the information.
By publishing such content without appropriate editorial processing, the media did not apply the standard of professional care in accordance with the principles of the Code of Journalists.
EXPLANATION
The Media Council for Self-Regulation received a complaint from reader Ms. Milena Popović regarding the text published on the Standard portal on 2 February, 2026. The complainant states that inappropriate and vulgar words transferred from the social network were left in the text, without removal or mitigation, although such expressions were not necessary to understand the information. In particular, she points to a part of the text in which a post from the social network X containing an explicit and vulgarly intoned insult was transmitted, without editorial intervention or mitigation.
The complaint also states that the text conveys and recounts a video circulating on social networks, mentioning the possibility that it is content generated by artificial intelligence, but without a clear demarcation between verified facts and assumptions. The complainant believes that such a way of reporting can lead to misinformation of readers and additional polarization in the public. Due to all of the above, the Commission was asked to consider the actions of the editorial staff.
The Media Council for Self-Regulation requested a statement from the editors of the Standard portal. In response, the editor of the portal, Ivan Đoković, stated that the editorial office wants to respond in detail and transparently to all allegations from the complaint and to clarify the circumstances of the publication of the disputed text, the subsequent removal of the content, as well as the professional approach of the portal in relation to the Code of Journalists and the public interest.
The editors stated that after the publication of the disputed video-text, the editorial team of the Standard portal carried out an internal check of the content in which it is implied that the image and voice of the fugitive Miloš Medenica participate in the video-message. On that occasion, as they state, it was determined that the publication of such content did not meet the standard of fact-checking provided by the Journalists' Code. The response states that because of this, the disputed material was removed from the portal, and that the content was "completely deleted from all formats and archives of the portal."
The editors clarified that due to the actions of the journalist on duty, the disputed content was visible for a certain time before its final removal. After the deletion, as they state, the video that is the subject of the complaint was no longer present in the remaining links. The response also states that the journalist was warned of the seriousness of the omission and that repeating similar mistakes would result in termination of employment.
The editors also pointed to the wider context in which the controversial video was published, stating that there was an intense public debate about the authenticity of certain recordings and the possibility that they were generated by artificial intelligence. According to their statements, the content caused strong reactions from the public and institutions, including announcements by the Police Administration that it was manipulative and artificially generated content.
The commission considered the allegations from the complaint, the editorial response and the available content.
The commission notes that the editorial team, by removing the disputed content, accepted the allegations from the complaint and subsequently harmonized the text with professional standards. The Commission welcomes the decision of the editorial team of the Standard portal to correct and revise the original text and remove offensive and vulgar content.
At the same time, the Commission assesses that the removal of links and comments that did not contain offensive or inappropriate content was not necessary, because the transfer of links and content that do not contain offensive elements is a common practice in professional journalism.
However, the Commission notes that at the end of the disputed text, a link was placed leading to another text on the Standard portal, in which the same offensive and vulgar expression from the social network was transmitted, without editorial intervention or mitigation. Thus, the consequences of the original publication have not been completely eliminated.
The Commission reminds that the media have full editorial responsibility for the content they publish, including content reposted from social networks. This responsibility comes to the fore especially in situations where such contents contain offensive speech or unconfirmed information, as well as in cases where there is a suspicion that the materials have been generated or manipulated with the help of modern technologies.
Bearing in mind the above, the Commission states that by transmitting the offensive expression in the linked text without editorial intervention, principle IV of the Code of Journalists, ie guideline 4.3, was violated. Insult and slander:
"Although journalistic freedom includes the possible recourse to a certain degree of exaggeration, provocation or insult, defamation is not acceptable, nor expressions that are not justified for the purposes of reporting on matters of public interest.
Offensive speech means an unprovoked personal attack on a person and cannot be protected by the right to freedom of expression."
Pursuant to Article 21 of the Statute of the Media Council for Self-Regulation, this decision must be published on the Standard portal.
Commission for Monitoring and Complaints
Aneta Spaić
Sonja Drobac
Danilo Burzan
Branko Vojičić
Ranko Vujović
