Dubioza kolektiv and the viral single "Balkan Boys"CEFR B2
14 Mar 2025
Adapted from Metamorphosis Foundation, Global Voices • CC BY 3.0
Photo by Brett Jordan, Unsplash
Dubioza kolektiv released the single "Balkan Boys," and the music video became a regional viral hit. Meta.mk covered the story and the report is republished under a content-sharing agreement between Global Voices and the Metamorphosis Foundation. The video reached over four million views across social networks within weeks: YouTube has over 1.2 million views, Instagram over 2.4 million, and Facebook totals more than a million views, including over 600,000 as a reel and more than 400,000 as the full video.
The song is in English and uses satire to mock several regional stereotypes, explicitly parodying Flat-Earth claims. The YouTube upload carries subtitles in Chinese, Czech, German, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Spanish. The video even shows a parody of a Flat-Earther view from the moon and the lyrics question that logic.
North Macedonia lists the Flat Earth theory in school curricula as an example of poor critical thinking. The article notes that the idea of a flat disk was debunked long ago; mathematician Eratosthenes calculated Earth's circumference over 2,300 years ago. Despite this, conspiracy claims remain on social networks and regional fact-checkers such as Truthmeter.mk, Faktoje.al, Raskrinkavanje.ba, Raskrinkavanje.me and Istinomer address them.
Dubioza kolektiv postponed the planned January 24 release by three days to show support for a general strike in Serbia. The strike was organised by a student movement demanding institutional responsibility for the 15 victims of the Novi Sad railway station canopy collapse. The band said on Facebook, in English, that its members come from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia and that they support protests they view as fights for dignity and a better life. In 2015 the group also gave a free concert at the state university in Skopje in support of the Student Plenum.
Difficult words
- viral — widely shared and quickly popular online
- satire — humorous criticism that exposes problems
- parody — a humorous imitation that criticizes somethingparodying
- subtitles — written translations shown with a video
- debunk — show that a claim is false or wrongdebunked
- conspiracy — an idea that secret forces control events
- postpone — delay something to a later timepostponed
- institutional — relating to public organisations or systems
- curriculum — the set of subjects taught at schoolcurricula
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- Do you think satire and parody are effective ways to challenge conspiracy theories? Explain with reasons.
- How important is teaching critical thinking in schools to reduce false claims online? Give examples from the article or your own experience.
- Should artists postpone releases to support social protests, as this band did? Why or why not?
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