The first propaganda war through computer networks: STEM academia and the breakup of Yugoslavia

Abstract The history of computer networks is relatively well described in Western literature but some parts of the world have been neglected. This paper explores the first ways in which computer networks were used in Yugoslavia, since these are different from the modes used in the West or Russia, because the dissolution of the country – mixed with its transition from communism to democracy and the wars for independence – created an environment which allowed computer networks to be used in unprecedented ways. The paper uses a mix of historical method, computational methods for collecting and analysing USENET data, semi-structured interview, archival research, and qualitative online observation. The main findings show that access to Western technology and participation in academic networks enabled Yugoslavian STEM academia and hackers to use computer networks for the first computer networks’ propaganda war. Slovenians, Croatians, and Serbians created electronic mailing lists through which they tried to manipulate international actors and to bond the diaspora for a common cause, and they additionally fought in USENET discussion groups by implementing trolling techniques.