By: P. J. (Nova24TV.si)
Instead of a coordinated intrusion by foreign forces, a spontaneous gathering of local users unfolded under the prime minister’s posts. It turned out that the criticism was not coming from the basements of digital power centres, but from living rooms across Slovenia.
After Robert Golob announced yesterday that he would launch a fierce fight against what he described as a “cyberattack” and coordinated activity of foreign bots on his profiles, the story took an unexpected turn overnight. It all began when a profile named Nepridiprav pushed its way into the spotlight. Without beating around the bush, he took responsibility for the mobilisation, not with the help of algorithms, but with a simple call to his followers to tell the prime minister what they think in the comments. What Golob’s team initially interpreted as an intrusion by external forces turned out, in the following hours, to be a completely analogue reaction of real people.
Online users began revealing their identities one after another. Instead of generic names and profile pictures typical of trolls, the posts featured Slovenian names, photos from trips, and personal profiles that had existed for years. The common denominator of these responses was not an external directive but spontaneous dissatisfaction. Social‑media analysts quickly noticed that the rhetoric did not follow pre‑prepared keywords but expressed a wide range of personal frustrations – from economic conditions to the announced reforms.
The attack that the prime minister’s office initially tried to present as a technical threat to national security thus gained a human face. It turned out that the “cyber army” was not headquartered in foreign power centres but in living rooms across Slovenia. The message from these people became clear: they are not digital shadows but voters counting down the days until they can transfer their opinions from the comment section to the ballot box.
A small victory over an attempt to silence criticism
While Golob’s team tried to repair the communication damage, the digital community was already celebrating its small victory over the attempt to silence them. The entire event served as a reminder that in the internet age, the line between a “cyber threat” and the “voice of the people” is becoming increasingly thin, especially when criticism appears without party labels, simply as a reflection of the public mood.
Commentary: The danger of underestimating one’s own citizens
The event raises a broader question about the government’s communication strategy in the digital era. The speed with which critical voices were labelled as “foreign threats” reveals a dangerous tendency to search for external enemies where there may simply be domestic dissatisfaction. When legitimate citizens are thrown into the same basket as malicious bots, it does not silence debate, it only fuels resistance. Any attempt to silence people can quickly turn into a digital boomerang that returns with double force.