Similar type of bot attacks target Instagram profiles of Serbian student movement and …

Print screen of the “Students in Blockade” Instagram profile. Photo by Meta.mk, used with permission. This article is based on coverage by Meta.mk News Agency published on November 16 and November 23, 2025.  An edited version is republished here under a content-sharing agreement between Global Voices and Metamorphosis Foundation.  Coordinated attacks attempting to shut down the Instagram accounts used by the student movement in Serbia and independent media in North Macedonia occurred almost simultaneously during November 2025. These large scale operations involved huge increase in fake followers on their profiles through bot activity, aimed to trigger an automatic shutdown response from the social media platform’s algorithm. A quick reaction by student movement prevented the damage to this crucial element of their information infrastructure, according to TV N1. In response to a previous similar attack of this kind, Macedonian media outlet Sloboden Pechat has locked their Instagram profile to prevent further bot activity. Serbia: Bot attack against student protest movement via fake profiles and mass reports The bot attacks in Serbia focused on Instagram profiles run by students involved in the Students in Blockade movement. The students first noticed a sudden spike in suspicious followers on the main movement’s profile Students
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