Anti-LGBT Sentiments Flourish Online in South-East Europe

LGBT community targeted in Serbia, Hungary, Romania

Following the dramatic uptick in digital attacks targeting LGBT communities in the region caused by the announcement of Pride parades in several Balkan countries, anti-LGBT sentiment and homophobic incidents have not abated.

On August 14 in Belgrade, thousands of people gathered in the centre of the Serbian capital to protest against the holding of the Euro Pride march in the city. As reported by BIRN, a crowd of between 5,000 and 10,000 protesters assembled, some carrying placards saying "We don't want a gay parade and occupation by the West!", "We don't surrender holy places", and "Keep your hands off our children".

Participants wave a rainbow colored flag during the Belgrade Pride Parade march in Belgrade, Serbia, 18 September 2021. Photo: EPA-EFE/ANDREJ CUKIC

In Hungary, several pro-government media outlets close to the ruling Fidesz party started sharing homophobic articles targeting the newly appointed Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Energy, Sam Brinton, who identifies as binary.

Some of the articles referred to Brinton as a "dog fetish drag queen" with a "deviant" personality. The incident was the latest example of the ongoing discrimination towards LGBT people in the Hungarian media, which has seen the Biden administration being harshly attacked previously by pro-government news outlet Origo in an article entitled "Gender-Neutral Pronouns and Transgender Government Member: Joe Biden Favoured Gender Lobby on Day One".

There has also been an increase in gender-based discrimination in the Romanian digital space. On August 10, MozaiQ, one of the most active gay rights NGOs in Romania, denounced what it called a worrying...