In post-conflict societies, transitional justice is not only about trials or documenting war crimes, but also about how society understands and remembers the past. In this process, the media plays a key role in shaping public opinion, building narratives, and creating space for social dialogue.
According to the report Media and Transitional Justice (ICTJ 2016) published by the International Center for Transitional Justice, transitional justice efforts rely on the media to encourage the creation of consensus about the past, describing this as a difficult but essential task if societies want to avoid a return to conflict.
“Without the active participation of the media as agents of social change, fully aware of their influence or responsibility in relation to the process, a sense of ownership over transitional justice efforts among key social groups will remain unattainable, even with the most sophisticated public communication efforts,” the report emphasizes.
However, although the media is considered a crucial factor in supporting transitional justice processes, reporting on war crimes and court proceedings in post-conflict societies is often influenced by political and ethnic narratives as well as information disorders.
This issue is highlighted in the report After the ICTY, published by BIRN in 2018, which states that despite the rich documentation and available sources, there are still no signs of fact-based narratives being formed about the legacy of wars in the region, mainly due to strong nationalist political discourse across these states.
“One of the reasons why media often neglect facts from trials is that only a few media organizations are interested in following such legal proceedings. As a result, news about war crimes trials rarely reaches the general public, mainly because mainstream media are either not interested or do not have the capacity to report from the trials. However, when they do report, the coverage is usually biased and ethnically motivated,” the report states.
Professor Dren Gërguri from the Department of Journalism at the University of Pristina, Kosovo, has also addressed this issue, emphasizing that reporting on topics related to war crimes and reconciliation processes requires special professional and ethical care, due to the direct impact these topics have on interethnic relations and the building of long-term peace. According to him, the most common forms of information disorder in this field include disinformation, misinformation, and the emotional manipulation of historical narratives.
“Studies in Kosovo show that a public continuously exposed to disinformation is influenced by it. Therefore, we can say that information disorder makes long-term reconciliation more difficult,” Gërguri said.
He further adds that we often see partial presentation of facts, sensational headlines, or political statements without sufficient verification, creating distorted perceptions among the public.
“For identification, it is essential to apply critical judgment to content, verify information, and compare it with other credible reports or sources,” he stated.
Project manager at the organization Pro Peace, Vjollca Islami Hajrullahu, says that one of the main challenges in promoting dialogue and understanding in contexts where inaccurate or distorted narratives about the past circulate is the deepening polarization of perceptions and the weakening of trust between different social groups.
“Another important challenge is related to the continuous exposure of young people to misinformation and unverified content in digital spaces and social networks. In the absence of sufficient media literacy and critical thinking skills, these narratives can be easily internalized and influence how history and current reality are perceived, making it harder to build balanced and informed attitudes,” Hajrullahu added.
She also emphasized that linguistic divisions and unequal access to verified sources in different languages further complicate the construction of a more inclusive narrative based on facts and acceptable to different perspectives.
“An important part of Pro Peace’s work is cooperation with civil society organizations as well as educational institutions to strengthen peace education and fact-based information. Through these activities, the organization creates safe spaces for reflection, learning, and critical discussion, encouraging young people and the public to develop more responsible approaches to information and narratives about the past,” Hajrullahu concluded.
In Kosovo and across the region, topics related to war crimes, victims, and judicial processes remain among the most sensitive issues in public discourse. More than two decades after the end of the war, interpretations of the past are still often built on ethnic and political grounds, influencing how the public perceives facts and transitional justice processes.The media and digital platforms have a dual role: they can contribute to fact-based reporting and the promotion of dialogue, but at the same time they can also serve as spaces where manipulative narratives, polarizing language, and misinformation spread, hindering reconciliation processes.
Written by: Viola Azemi