A recent interview with Slovenian entrepreneur and founder of the company Bia Separations, Aleš Štrancar, reveals worrying practices in the media industry, where the line between independent journalism, paid advertising, and political influence is becoming increasingly blurred. At the end of August, The Report Company published a publication entitled “Slovenia emerges as Europe’s innovation incubator”, which was prepared in collaboration with the American media outlet USA Today. Government representatives also contributed to the publication, presenting Slovenia and the Slovenian economy as extremely progressive and attractive to foreign investors. In contrast, entrepreneur Štrancar critically assessed the Slovenian government and its economic policy, media environment, and environmental problems in his interview – and was subsequently censored. This raised suspicions of political or ideological motives behind the changes and intervention.
“The question is how much the Slovenian government paid for this mess, or which uncle from the background ordered the censorship,” Aleš Štancar responded to the situation, who gave an extensive interview to USA Today about the decline of entrepreneurial and personal freedom in Slovenia.
One of the key topics that was censored in the published version was criticism of the Slovenian government of Robert Golob, which is restricting entrepreneurial freedom, increasing the tax burden, undermining media plurality, and allowing for judicial chaos.
Censored sections from the authorised interview
“Entrepreneurial freedom in Slovenia has declined rapidly in recent years. Taxes have also increased significantly. According to data published by the European Commission, Slovenia has been performing poorly, especially in the last few years. Human freedom is also increasingly compromised. Most media outlets are controlled by former members of the communist party or their successors. Independent media no longer exist; instead, the media serve primarily to manipulate public opinion. We are far from real freedom. Legal issues are another concern. Many high-level criminals, including mafia figures, have been released from prison,” Štancar said in the uncensored version of the interview.
He also clearly pointed out the problem of nanoplastics in the environment, which he believes are the main factor in the increase in cancer and genetic diseases: nanoplastics accumulate in the body and cells, entering through food and air, causing genetic damage and posing a long-term threat to human health. “I believe that in 50 to 70 years, humanity may not survive without advanced cancer and gene therapies.”
He also highlighted the problem of funding doctorates as a way for the state to maintain control over public research institutions, with many doctors of science ending up unemployed or forced to leave the country, which directly affects Slovenia’s innovation potential.
Did the criticism bother government representatives?
An authorised interview revealed that Slovenia is facing numerous challenges that were not included in the published version of the interview, raising suspicions of deliberate censorship influenced by external interests, perhaps even the Slovenian government. The suspicion of government influence is reinforced by information publicly stated by The Report Company. On their website, they state: “We help governments and organisations present their stories with creative and credible content.”
Matevž Frangež, Asta Vrečko and Zoran Janković also participated in the preparation of the publication
In addition, important national and local representatives also participated in the preparation of the publication, including Matevž Frangež, the State Secretary at the Ministry of the Economy, Tourism, and Sport; Asta Vrečko, the Minister of Culture, and Zoran Janković, the Mayor of Ljubljana. In an interview with USA Today, Frangež presented Slovenia’s economic ambitions, its strategy for promoting start-ups, and the key sectors that are expected to form the basis for growth. Minister Vrečko emphasised the importance of cultural heritage and cross-border cooperation, while Janković presented his vision for Ljubljana by 2045 and investments that would improve the quality of life for citizens and ensure that the city remains clean, safe, and green.
How much did the government spend on this propaganda publication?
Štrancar’s criticism, which practically demolished all their rhetoric, clearly did not belong in this publication. And since there are suspicions that the omissions of critical parts of the interview in question are linked to paid advertising or the influence of the Slovenian authorities, we have addressed questions on the matter to both the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and The Report Company. We are particularly interested in whether any of the institutions co-financed the publication and how much they paid for such propaganda, whether they were informed about Štrancar’s interview, and whether they were in any way involved in the decision to omit individual parts of the interview. We wanted to find out from The Report Company why the parts that directly refer to criticism of the government and the state of media plurality were omitted, and whether Slovenia as a country or its ministry co-financed the paid advertisement.
Will Štrancar sue USA Today for business fraud?
Štrancar also responded to a question about possible legal action against USA Today, as he is dissatisfied with the interview. “You sent me the interview for review, and I approved it. After that, you completely changed my interview without my knowledge and without my consent. I would never have approved such changes,” he reproached them. He says he has sought legal advice: “Given that they have
falsified this paid advertisement, I will demand that the management of USA Today refund us the money for the advertisement. We are also considering the possibility of a lawsuit for business fraud.” The published version of his interview (available at the following link: https://the-report.com/site/assets/files/14704/slovenia_usa_today_2025_report.pdf) thus distorted the essence of the message and did not provide insight into the problems faced by Slovenian business and science, thus misleading the image of the country and its business environment. It changed the context by omitting critical assessments of the state of entrepreneurial freedom, media plurality, and environmental issues in Slovenia, which raises the question of who actually shapes the narrative and what information is available to the public.
You can download and read the full, uncensored version of the interview at the following link: https://nova24tv.si/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/USA-Today-Interview-Transcript-Ales-Strancar-Founder-CEO-Bia-Separations.docx
A. G.
