Even if he is an agent, he´s mine

How BIRN, in coordination with its mentors from the MI6 structure, attempted to discredit the Serbian intelligence service by planting the cuckoo’s egg of the Foreign Office among confused Serbs – surely a credible and more benevolent institution towards the sinful nation?

BIRN, long self-confident and brazen in the public sphere, has often boasted about its independent investigative work and network, where various scandals and wrongdoings were easily caught and exposed. And who knows how much longer it would have continued to be regarded as a shark among media fish, at least in the wider public sphere, had an unpleasant truth not surfaced – that this head-cutting crew is nothing more than a propaganda arm of MI6, part of a special organ of the British Foreign Office.

These facts were recently highlighted by the portal ‘The Grayzone’ and later by RT. Reuters also contributed significantly to the exposure, describing BIRN as ‘an influential extension of the soft power of British foreign policy.’

A LITTLE SECRET OF THE GREAT SPIN-MASTERS

The unraveling began when ‘The Grayzone’ obtained email correspondence in which employees accused regional director Milka Domanović of a series of failures, including neglect of duties and inappropriate behavior toward staff. As a result, BIRN was forced to return a €300,000 grant to the European Union, which had been awarded for a single project. Employees confirmed the authenticity of the emails but refused to reveal their identities, explaining that doing so would jeopardize their careers.

The European Union is just one of the many sponsors of this media house. According to ‘The Grayzone,’ BIRN’s list of donors includes branches and segments of intelligence services and regional Western embassies. The leaked documents reveal that British involvement extends beyond mere media funding, with their foreign intelligence services even training employees and directing their activities through the so-called ‘British Council.’

A leaked internal document reveals that the ‘British Council’ took control of BIRN as part of a Foreign Office project, allegedly aimed at ‘supporting greater media independence in the Western Balkans.’ Oxymoron.

A CLAIM IS NOT EVIDENCE, GENTLEMEN

In addition to numerous articles that sensationally present unverified allegations targeting current figures in Serbia’s political and intelligence spheres, BIRN recently published a piece in collaboration with Amnesty International, claiming to have forensically examined the phones of several NGO activists from Serbia, ‘proving’ that the Security Intelligence Agency (BIA) had inserted a virus to spy on them.

‘BIRN’s investigation and Amnesty International’s forensic analysis revealed that BIA, using Israeli Cellebrite technology, unlocked activists’ phones when they were summoned or brought in for questioning, inserting domestic spyware NoviSpy into their devices. They didn’t stop at collecting messages and contacts – they accessed private photos, tracked families, and activated cameras and microphones. This is a story told through the testimonies of those from whom BIA took not only data but also freedom.’

However, the reports lack evidence for these claims. Essentially, the allegations are based on statements by Ivan Bjelić, an activist from the informal group SVIĆE, and Nikola Ristić, a board member of the Umbrella Organization of Youth and also an activist from SVIĆE, as well as Ivan Milosavljević, a journalist from Deutsche Welle and member of the NGO ‘RIS,’ and an anonymous activist from the pro-Ukrainian NGO ‘Krokodil’. Moreover, these claims are backed solely by this media outlet, which lacks any credibility. There is no evidence, but an analysis of the article sheds new light on these events, statements, and the activists’ behavior.

WITH FULL TRUST IN MI6

It is undoubtedly with such headlines that the British service, or rather its outpost in Serbia – the publication BIRN – seeks to degrade the Serbian security agency, alleging that it violates basic human rights and exceeds its authority. Interestingly, Serbian activists who fear Serbian services simultaneously entrust their phones, allegedly “burdened” with tracking software, to an organization under the direct control of MI6 for examination?

Former BIA director Aleksandar Vulin, whose MPs recently launched an initiative to introduce a foreign agents law – where BIRN would likely top the list – responded to these allegations by posing several questions about the “forensic analysis” for which there is no physical evidence, apart from the statements of those members of the foreign services’ civil sector in Serbia:

“Amnesty International and the NGOs in Serbia funded by them have launched an attack on the security system in our country. Without a shred of evidence, they accused BIA and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of using various software, just like other services in the East and the West, to collect information from various security-interest individuals. It is interesting that Amnesty and the NGOs they fund never questioned the CIA about what software it uses to gather information, not even when it was revealed that the CIA was wiretapping Angela Merkel and a host of other EU politicians. I ask our partners from SNS to reconsider supporting the foreign agents law once again.”

THE DARK TRUTH ABOUT THE NATION’S HEROES

It is interesting that in Western society, intelligence agencies like MI6 and the CIA are glorified throughout society, primarily through film productions where agents of these services are portrayed as national heroes – despite the fact that these institutions perhaps show the least respect for human rights, freedom, and privacy, not to mention their blatant disregard for human lives, not just individuals but entire nations. Even Western media have reported on the proven crimes of these agencies in the Middle East, Africa, and even in European countries and Serbia. However, this does not prevent them from demonstrating their power even where Serbian and Russian services, in the interest of protecting national interests, are restrained.

An identical approach by British and American secret services was observed in Russia, where local media and NGOs engaged in propaganda aimed at discrediting Russian services in the eyes of the population. However, Moscow had the strength to cut off these activities even before the adoption of the Foreign Agents Law – which, it should be noted, has existed in the United States since 1938. Despite sanctions, certain NGOs, media outlets, and foreign agents persist in promoting Russia as a dark force where all freedoms are restricted, and human rights virtually nonexistent – all thanks to the “dictator” Putin and his secret services.

The main reason behind this propaganda is the Russian Federation’s firm intention to fight for traditional values and preserve the moral and mental health of the nation – something that, realistically, is not the case in Western countries. There, freedoms of all kinds, especially sexual freedoms, and the values they try to impose on the rest of the world, are clear signs of both cultural and national decline.

ATTACKING THE BIA

The attacks on the BIA are not mere incidents. As one of the key institutions safeguarding Serbia’s sovereignty and security, it stands as a serious obstacle to the implementation of the Western agenda, the primary goal of which is currently the destabilization of the country. In addition to sporadic accusations made over the past few months and years against this agency, the latest claims clearly show that the propaganda has shifted from the political level to targeting intelligence agencies. Naturally, the goal is to further undermine their reputation and credibility in a society that, thanks to the propaganda outlets of Western foreign services, already has a completely distorted perception of these institutions. Like it or not, such institutions must exist and, as time has shown, serve as the last line of defense for the sovereignty and survival of every state.

In the current climate, the pro-Western media machinery is in full swing. This isn’t just about BIRN, but the entire United Group, which consists of dozens of influential portals, print media, television channels, and numerous other investigative networks, all of which are sponsored and managed by foreign embassies. The objective is to rapidly erode trust in every possible institution. The attack on the BIA should be understood in this context – redirecting attention to “violations of human rights and freedoms” of activists, which in turn spreads panic among the general public and, of course, leads to condemnations of the agency. According to media outlets proven to be MI6 outposts, BIA allegedly denies citizens their right to privacy.

WHO WILL ASK THE QUESTIONS?

The key and perhaps most interesting aspect of this situation is the activists and witnesses who place boundless trust in these organizations. The level of cooperation – where phones and sensitive data are unreservedly handed over to organizations with a proven history of connections to the British intelligence service MI6 – points to much deeper ties between so-called “independent activists” and Western structures.

For example, why would NGO activists like Nikola Ristić or Ivan Bjelić from the SVIĆE group – individuals portrayed by pro-Western media for months as champions of human rights, democracy, environmentalism, and other current issues – place such trust in an organization directly linked to Western intelligence apparatus? Are they truly victims, or are they active participants in shaping narratives aimed at destabilizing the country? Their unconditional acceptance of analyses from organizations like Amnesty, which has been proven – not just in Serbia but in every country resisting Western value systems – to manipulate facts and information, turning inconvenient politicians or security figures into enemies of the people through outlets like BIRN, only deepens suspicions about their roles.

However, given the entire media landscape in Serbia – with well-trained propagandists on one side and mediocre regime-driven sensationalists on the other – there is no one to ask the real questions.

NED – THE COMMON DENOMINATOR

It is evident that BIRN’s activities have long surpassed what can be described as journalistic investigative work, and that the activists mentioned are anything but ordinary NGO fighters for a better system, a sovereign, and independent Serbia. The organizations these activists and media outlets are connected to share the same sponsors – from British funds to EU-backed structures, USAID, and, of course, NED!

By working together, the media, NGO activists, and pro-Western politicians – the three main pillars of foreign influence – not only discredit domestic institutions but actively strengthen the influence of foreign intelligence structures. The ordinary reader of such tabloid headlines remains completely unaware of what is really happening.

THEIR TRACKS REEK OF INHUMANITY

The methods employed by these organizations in Serbia and Russia closely resemble the activities conducted by British and American structures in Ukraine, Armenia, Libya, and Syria – essentially in every country where Western democracy has been introduced and national sovereignty dismantled. In those nations, local activists and media, funded by the same sources, played a key role in crafting narratives that served as pretexts for interventions. The ultimate result is chaos, which persists to this day, and which, at the pace we are witnessing, is slowly making its way into Serbia.

The activists operating under the umbrella of these donors are anything but independent. For this very reason, strengthening legal regulations and increasing transparency – which these activists supposedly advocate for – such as the foreign agents law, becomes essential. It is the only way to protect not just security structures, but all state institutions. And, naturally, sovereignty.