A pilot of a U.S. Air Force B-52 scans the horizon for aircraft as he flies on a combat penetration mission toward a target in Kosovo on May 26, 1999. Photo by US Department of Defence, Public Domain. This story by Ridona Berisha was originally published by Sbunker as part of the regional initiative Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub. An edited version is republished by Global Voices with permission. While reporting on the anniversary of the end of the NATO intervention during the Kosovo War, like in previous years, politicians and some Serbian media distorted information to accuse NATO of “aggression” on the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) in 1999. As that conflict intensified and reports of human rights abuses emerged, NATO became increasingly concerned about the situation in Kosovo. Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis had failed, and NATO decided to intervene militarily to protect the civilian population and halt the humanitarian crisis. The bombing campaign remains a subject of controversy. Critics argue that NATO's intervention violated international law and sovereignty, while supporters maintain that it was necessary to prevent further humanitarian suffering and instability in the Balkans. So, after Slobodan Milošević‘s refusal to stop the repression and campaign of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, and the exhaustion of all diplomatic means to resolve the Kosovo issue peacefully, on March 24, 1999, NATO launched an aerial bombing campaign on Yugoslav military targets, which international law defined as a humanitarian intervention, which continued until June 10. On the 24th anniversary of the bombings, the Serbian media published several news reports and interpretations that fed the narrative that it was an “aggression” against an independent state. Thus, the number of civilian casualties has been manipulated. For instance, Kosovo Online, a portal run by members of the Serbian community in Kosovo, reported that the Ministry of Defense of Serbia announced that “2,500 civilians were killed, among them 89 children and 1,031 members of the army and police.” These figures of civilian casualties are much higher than those confirmed by international and domestic human rights organizations. In many cases, Serbian officials and opinion makers inflate the numbers or mix the totals of civilian and military casualties, as well as add the local Albanian people killed by Serbian military or paramilitary forces as victims of NATO bombing, too. Moreover, the former Serbian officials who used to hold high political or military positions under the autocratic rule of Milošević, have been given a platform by the Serbian media to speak negatively against NATO. A diplomat and former minister of foreign affairs of the SFR Yugoslavia, Vladislav Jovanović, said that the consequences of the 1999 intervention are permanent and “the aggression is continuing, but with other means.” Meanwhile, the former commander of the Prishtina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, Colonel General Vladimir Lazarević, in his statement about NATO's intervention, compared the current potential of the Serbian army with the time of NATO's intervention. “The Serbian army in 2023 is much better equipped than it was then, especially when it comes to anti-aircraft systems and aviation,” he said. It’s important to remember that Lazarević was convicted of war crimes in Kosovo, for aiding and abetting the deportation and violent transfer of the ethnic Albanian population of Kosovo. For this, the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia sentenced him to 14 years in prison. Quoting such recent statements shows that convicted war criminals continue to appear regularly in Serbian media, and are presented as authoritative sources. Other Serbian officials have given fake information, using photos from other countries to accuse NATO. The former diplomat who currently heads the opposition People's Party, Vuk Jeremić, has posted a photo on Twitter claiming it was taken during the NATO bombing campaign, when, based on internet research, it appears that the photo was taken in Baghdad, Iraq, in 2003. Jovanović has urged that NATO never be forgiven NATO for the bombings, as he also linked the developments of that time with the current Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. Screenshot of tweet by Serbian politician Vuk Jeremić with a photo from bombing of Baghdad in 2003 used falsely to illustrate NATO intervention in Serbia in 1999. “The latest form in which we are asked for our consent is the so-called “French-German plan.” Its acceptance would mean the legitimization of the 1999 aggression, as well as our voluntary and permanent renunciation of Kosovo.” Jeremić wrote in the accompanying Twitter thread.