SDSM warns Serbian media takeover may be copied in North Macedonia
SDSM says the same network that bought independent Serbian outlets has links to Alpac Capital and 4iG and is preparing entry into the Macedonian market.
The Social Democratic Union of North Macedonia (SDSM) accused, on August 17, 2026, that a network linked to Hungarian and Serbian political circles has completed the takeover of independent Serbian news outlets and is preparing to replicate the model in North Macedonia.
Alleged network, new director and ties to Hungary
SDSM said the purchase in Serbia affected channels and titles including N1, Nova S, Radar, Forbes Adria and Danas. The party pointed out that Pedro Vargas Santos David has been entered in business registers as the new director of those outlets; SDSM added that his father, Mario David, was a long-time adviser to Viktor Orbán.
The party also named Alpac Capital as the investment vehicle behind the deals and recalled that the same fund acquired a majority stake in EuroNews in 2022 with around €45 million that, according to SDSM, came through a Hungarian state fund. SDSM further alleged that the network is linked with the company 4iG, which is preparing to enter the Macedonian market as a third mobile operator after meetings with Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski.
SDSM estimates, the statement said, that Hungarian capital already controls roughly 40 percent of the Macedonian media market and that Serbian media structures are now preparing to enter the country. Unions at several Serbian outlets publicly criticised the takeover process.
SDSM accused the Prime Minister directly of seeking media allies. The party repeated its earlier warning and said the moves represent a deliberate attempt to seize public informational space before elections. In its written statement SDSM said: "Mickoski has no results and there is no money in the budget. He needs media as protection for his criminal rule. The only thing left for him is to place the media space under his control after he already fully seized the judiciary and the police."
Party officials named individual journalists and editors whom they say are involved in organising the operation domestically; they singled out, by name, journalistic figures they claim have roles in editorial and organisational processes. According to SDSM: "Latas is responsible for the editorial part. Ivona Talevska for 'Vučić's EuroNews'. The goal is clear: total control of the information space before elections. Media darkness. No free media. No criticism. No truth."
The announcement cited the business-register entries dated August 17, 2026 as the moment when the new director for the Adria News Network titles became official, and noted that trade unions at several affected outlets condemned how the Portuguese company Alpac Capital conducted the acquisitions.
Photo: press material from the event
