The Belgrade EuroPride is the continuation of the 2018 event previously held in Stockholm. Photo by Simon Legner via Wikipedia Commons. This story is based on original coverage by Meta.mk, as part of the regional initiative Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub. An edited version is republished here under a content-sharing agreement between Global Voices and the Metamorphosis Foundation. In Serbia, disinformation and hate speech toward the LGBTQ+ community and supporters of human rights have been noticeably on the rise as the capital Belgrade is about to host the 2022 EuroPride during this week. The EuroPride is a pan-European and international LGBTQ+ event hosted by a different European city each year. In 2022 it is taking place in Belgrade from September 12–18, and consists of a series of events including a film festival, conferences, and a Pride Walk. Serbian far-right political parties and the Serbian Orthodox Church have condemned the event, calling for a ban, and conducting protests that include the glorification of Russian president Vladimir Putin as a model “defender of traditional values.” The Serbian government has officially announced a “canceling” of the event, while organizers of the EuroPride have issued a denial, claiming it will indeed take place on September 12. People who have been supportive of the event have faced abuse and received threats on social networks. Activist Marko Mihajlović, one of the local organizers of the EuroPride 2022, shared his views via Twitter, summarizing the experiences of the wider community. Nije mi ovoliko bilo teško što sam gej, sigurno od tinejdžerskog doba. Ovoliko mržnje, pretnji i negiranja mog prava da živim dostojanstven i ravnopravan život – nije bilo u javnosti baš dugo. Ja se sebe ne stidim ali sam, posle 15 godina, zabrinut za moj život u ovoj zemlji… — Marko Mihailović (@PalpFiksn) September 8, 2022 Ever since I was a teenager, I haven't experienced so much hardship for being gay. So much hate, threats and negating of my right to live my life in dignity and equal rights has not been part of public discourse in a long time. I am not ashamed of who I am, but after 15 years, I am concerned about my life in this country… Mihajlović also provided a concise outline of the narratives that comprise the homophobic propaganda over social networks. “The negative comments are mainly about: 1. Negating that LGBTI+ people have any problems at all [in Serbia]. 2. Demand that we hide behind 4 walls and stay silent. 3. Using our constitutionally guaranteed human rights is a provocation. 4. On the Pride we'll go naked and have sex in the streets. 5. Calls to violence.” One instance of misinformation and disinformation that made large impact on the social networks is a viral video of an alleged Serbian mother who states that she returned to her country from Germany states after she was fined by German authorities for refusing to dress her son in female clothes. The video description also contains hate speech. Svedočenje naše sestre Milke koja živi i radi u Nemačkoj. Želi da se vrati u neku Srbiju bolju, zato nam je dala podršku prilikom peticije za zabranu pederbala. Uslovljavanje koja je ona imala u EU neće proći u Srbiji. Muško će ostati muško,a žensko, žensko. pic.twitter.com/0zR2X6YAij — Ivica Božić (@Ilebozicile) August 20, 2022 Testimony of our sister Milka who lives and works in Germany. She wants to return to a better Serbia, and that's why she has expressed support for us while we were gathering a petition for banning the [sic] faggot ball. The blackmailing she had to endure would not happen in Serbia. Males will remain males, and females – females. The video was produced and disseminated by a local right-wing political activist, a member of an extremist faction striving to replace the ruling nationalist and populist Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) and take over the government. In response, a prominent SNS member attempted to present them as Russian agents spreading foreign malign influence. Dragan Šormaz, a member of the Central Committee of the ruling SNS, used Twitter to warn that the video is disinformation. However, he also increased the confusion by adding unsupported claims that the woman speaking is not Serbian, but Russian and an employee at the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center in Niš in the south of the country, and that she had already fled the country.