Monitoring report on the hate speech in Bosnia and Herzegovina – 2025, written by Maida Salkanović, examines incidents of hate speech recorded between 1 January 2024 and 30 June 2025, identifying recurring narratives, shifts in targets, and notable trigger events.

It aims to highlight broader trends in hate speech, analyse their underlying drivers, and situate them within the wider geopolitical and social context in which they unfold.

Between January 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, the monitoring recorded 78 incidents of hate speech in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with the most prevalent being hatred based on ethnicity. A total of 41 incidents (52.6%) were explicitly directed at ethnic groups, with an additional three (3.8%) combining ethnic and genderbased hatred, and three (3.8%) combining ethnic and religious hatred.

The monitoring relied exclusively on publicly available content; private communications and closed online groups were not included. Given the high volume and speed of online discourse, some instances of HDD may have been missed. Additionally, prioritising the influence of the source means that certain forms of grassroots hate speech are underrepresented in the dataset.

As a post-conflict society marked by ongoing political, social, and economic changes, Bosnia and Herzegovina remains especially vulnerable to hate speech rooted in ethnonationalist identities, the report stated.

It is added that, although different forms of hate speech are present, ethnically driven rhetoric is particularly prominent.

“In a society already deeply polarised along ethnonational lines, hate speech risks deepening divisions further: targeted groups often respond by reinforcing their own ethnonational identities and becoming less willing to engage with other communities”, the report noted.

The online sphere, as it is added, adds an additional dimension to this challenge. The author states that digital spaces are neither clearly defined nor sufficiently regulated, allowing hateful content to remain visible, be reshared, and resurface long after its initial publication.

“In a climate of political and social instability, such persistent online hate speech can play a significant role in mobilising groups and inciting hostility or violence”, the report says.

This report applies the methodological framework developed for previous Reporting Diversity Network 2.0 (RDN 2.0) monitoring cycles, combining quantitative and qualitative content analysis to examine hate and discriminatory discourse (HDD) in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the observed period. The approach is designed to identify patterns, targets, and triggers of HDD, and to provide evidence-based insights for addressing and countering such narratives.

Monitoring report on the hate speech in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2025 was created as part of the regional cooperation of the Mediacentar Foundation with partners in the Reporting Diversity Network project.

The complete report in English is available at this link.