ELECTIONS 26: Statesman, Protector, and Ćacike

Week 02

The past week was marked by Vučić’s resignation and the path leading to it, during which he presented himself as a statesman to the outside world and a protector of voters at home. The government’s main new campaign theme was the protection of women, built around a video released by students at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (FDU).

The third week of election campaign monitoring covers September 21-27. We collected 29,086 articles from 25 monitored online media outlets. On social media, we analyzed 126,043 posts from the feeds of ten simulated personas on TikTok, Instagram, and X.

In the same week that the government ran a campaign about protecting women from violence by Student List supporters, pro-government tabloids and SNS supporters on social media targeted two women on the opposing side: Mirjana Nikolić, rector of the University of Arts in Belgrade and a candidate on the Student List, and feminist activist Jelena Riznić.

The Week at a Glance

In online media, the central event was Aleksandar Vučić’s resignation, announced on September 24 and submitted on the evening of September 27. It was preceded by a series of presidential activities: an address to the UN General Assembly, a meeting with Macron, a conversation with Putin, and a decision on amnesty and pardons. A video released by Faculty of Dramatic Arts students sparked fierce reactions in pro-government media and channels, culminating in an announced appeal to European institutions over alleged threats of violence. This camp then launched the “I too am a ćacika” campaign, in which prominent SNS members read nearly identical statements and posted videos online. Ana Brnabić is at the center of the campaign; following Vučić’s resignation, she assumes the presidency.

On social media, the student movement is running a predominantly grassroots campaign. The “Guardians of the Constitution” cycling tour is the main source of content in pro-student feeds, and students are the actor portrayed most positively across the communications space. In the pro-government Instagram cluster, the account “klipperdanijelsrbi1,” which carries the platform label indicating that it is AI-generated, entered the top ten last week and is now second, immediately behind Informer. Vučić’s official account, @avucic, dropped out of the top ten, while @buducnostsrbijeav had already dropped out last week.

Three incidents concerning rights and freedoms in the digital environment were recorded: calls from pollsters claiming to represent the SNS, clones of the N1 and Vreme websites, and mass following of the Mašina news portal’s Instagram account.

Words That Defined the Week

Online outlets and social media spoke two different languages this week. In online media, “president” ranks first, ahead of “Vučić,” followed immediately by foreign-policy vocabulary. “Trump” is among the fifty most frequent words for the first time. “Student” fell from 43rd to 89th place and is no longer among the top fifty, while “sport,” “Partizan,” “Zvezda,” and “match” retained their positions.

On social media, “student” ranks second, immediately after “Serbia,” and the verb from the slogan “students are winning” is among the top ten. The grassroots campaign is plainly visible: “constitution,” “cyclist,” “welcome,” “guardians,” “Niš,” and “Kragujevac” are all among the fifty most frequent words.

Media Overview

The Path to Resignation: Statesman Abroad, Protector at Home

The final week of Vučić’s presidential term was marked by two parallel tracks. In appearances aimed at foreign audiences, he addressed the UN General Assembly and met Macron on the margins of the session, relaying Macron’s remarks on his last day in office. Near the end of his term, he also spoke with Putin, saying that the gas arrangement would be extended.

In appearances aimed at domestic audiences, Vučić granted amnesty and pardons to 49 people on the penultimate day of his term, 23 of whom were linked to events over the past year and a half. He announced his resignation in the middle of the week and submitted it on the evening of September 27, explaining that he wanted to contest the election as an ordinary citizen.

By the end of the week, Kosovo had returned as a significant topic through the arrests of Serbs, which Vučić called, in his resignation address, “the most perfidious method of ethnic cleansing.” Unlike last week, when the KLA verdicts were an external event, the Kosovo issue this week was directed at domestic audiences.

“I Too Am a ćacika”: From the FDU Video to Protecting Women

Students of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts, who are participating in the blockade, released a video on September 19 edited from earlier footage of Vučić and citizens’ statements. Its final shot, set in a prison cell, suggests that Vučić will end up in prison. Ana Brnabić called an emergency press conference and interpreted the shot as an incitement to rape. She sent the same appeal to European Parliament political groups, Commissioner Marta Kos, and Andreas von Beckerath, head of the EU Delegation. The video’s authors declined to comment, Danas reports.

A small-scale campaign emerged in response to the alleged rape threats. At the press conference, SNS members repeated “I too am a ćacika,” which Novosti then picked up; on September 23, women from the “Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia” list posted videos using the same slogan on X. Brnabić and Miloš Vučević also carried the message. The campaign culminated on September 27 in front of the Presidency, where women stood around Vučić as he addressed the crowd, and he directed his strongest words to women. Brnabić, the campaign’s spokesperson, assumes the presidency after the resignation.

At the same time, pro-government tabloids attacked two women on the other side. The campaign against rector Mirjana Nikolić was triggered by one mispronounced word: in the first thematic pre-election debate on N1, with Ana Brnabić, she said “sumljam” instead of “sumnjam” (“I doubt”). Novosti and 24sedam published articles under the same headline, Alo called her a “sumljivo lice” (a play on “suspicious person”), and Informer published earlier footage to claim it was not a slip of the tongue. Jelena Riznić, who appears in the Faculty of Dramatic Arts video, became Informer’s main topic. Riznić told N1 about a TV Informer program in which four men discussed what they would do to her.

The Foreign Project Gets a Name

This week, the narrative presenting the student movement as a foreign project acquired specific alleged backers. Pink writes that Western and regional security services used the Student List to destroy the opposition, while Kurir writes about “Operation Student List.” In the second half of the week, a claim also emerged that Albin Kurti was directly involved in the Student List’s campaign.

Government Messages

• Support for families. Republika, Novosti, and Pink report on monthly assistance for parent caregivers, including pension-service credits, and subsidies for mothers buying their first home.
• Women as a pillar of society. Tanjug and B92 present candidates from the “Aleksandar Vučić – United Serbia” list as symbols of unity.
• School outside politics. The education minister says that schools must not become platforms for politics, while the new education law remains on hold pending changed circumstances.
• A statesman on the world stage. Blic previews Vučić’s address to the UN and talks on reviving trilateral meetings with Cyprus.
• Development and major projects. Belgrade’s preparations for Expo 2027 and home energy-efficiency upgrades in Niš.

Opposition Messages

• A quarter-century of falling behind. Zdravko Ponoš assesses that Serbia is a quarter of a century behind where it could have been, N1 and Danas report.
• A special prosecutor for high-level corruption. Marinika Tepić announces a law under which such a prosecutor could order the arrest of the president and prime minister, N1 and Nova report.
• Resignation as capitulation. The Student List says that the resignation puts Vučić on equal footing with the other candidates and that he no longer has immunity, Nova reports.
• Strengthening institutions. The Student List highlights strengthening institutions and healing society as its goal, going beyond a mere change of government, N1 and Nova report.
• Obstruction of the electoral-roll audit. A ZLF commission member claims that the responsible minister prevented the audit, N1 and Nova report.
• Support for a minority government. European Serbia announces that after the election it will support a Student List minority government, Nova and Insajder report.

Other Messages

• Amendments to the public-order law. Ombudsman Zoran Pašalić announces that in a few months he will propose amendments to the law governing public order that would extend its provisions to social media, Danas and 021 report.

What Was in the Feed

Guardians of the Constitution: A Grassroots Campaign Filling Social Media

The “Guardians of the Constitution” cycling tour was the dominant topic in pro-student feeds. Posts tracked the route from Belgrade southward and the welcomes in towns along the way, culminating in a gathering in Kragujevac on September 26 (@prviprvinaskali, Instagram, September 22). The tour reached undecided personas through local outlets, such as an announcement of the welcome in Niš (@juznevesti, Instagram, September 23). In the pro-government feed, it served as a target, with claims that students were cycling instead of appearing in TV debates (@praetus, TikTok, September 24).

The campaign’s organic nature is also evident in the feed structure. The pro-student Instagram feed is dispersed, without a single dominant source, while on X, messages about free elections mingle with personal stories, such as an encounter with an older man wearing a “students are winning” T-shirt (@otrovni_brsljen, X, September 26). Students are the most positively portrayed actor in the communications space, and on TikTok they are the only actor portrayed positively in all four clusters, including the pro-government cluster.

The FDU Video as Student Content That Sets the Agenda

The video released by students at the Faculty of Dramatic Arts was the only student content this week to set the agenda for the other side. In the pro-government X feed, it was labeled a “rape campaign,” alongside claims that the Student List was collapsing (@Vookela, X, September 24). In the pro-opposition feed, Brnabić’s appeal to the European Parliament was mocked (@AnaPavlovic16, X, September 21). A wave of “I too am a ćacika” video messages circulated on X, but did not enter the feeds of the personas we monitor.

Who Spoke

Informer leads the pro-government Instagram cluster, followed immediately by @klipperdanijelsrbi1, a profile carrying Instagram’s “AI-generated profile” label that only entered the top ten last week. Aleksandar Vučić’s official account, @avucic, along with @nsuzivo.rs and @sns_srbija, dropped out of this week’s most prominent accounts; @snsuzivo, @naprednjaci_srbija, and Adriana Mesarović’s account entered. The feeds also contain the sister profile @klipperdanijelsrbivesti, with the same type of content.

Visual Content

Last week’s pattern has now reversed. Unlike the previous week, when mobilizing content remained within the cluster where it originated while discrediting content crossed cluster boundaries, this week the pro-student visual circulated most widely, while the pro-government one remained largely within its own cluster.

Pro-Government Cluster

The most frequently repeated item was a sticker illustrating rector Mirjana Nikolić with the text “Sumljam da ćemo pobediti” – misspelling sumnjam (“I doubt”) – mocking her slip of the tongue in the N1 debate (@PlaviSafir47514, X, September 26). Almost all appearances remained within that cluster.

Sticker used by pro-government accounts to mock the rector of the University of Arts.

Pro-Opposition Cluster

The European Serbia list, gathered around the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP), called on supporters to sign the Declaration on a European Serbia in Novi Sad on September 24. The list is gathered around the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP). Slightly under half of the appearances were recorded in that cluster and the rest outside it.

European Serbia’s call to sign the declaration in Novi Sad.

Pro-Student Cluster

The most frequently repeated visual was a parliamentary-election poll graphic showing the Student List in first place (@try.balkan, Instagram, September 21). It was this week’s most widely circulated visual across the entire system, recorded by all ten personas, with most appearances outside the pro-student cluster.

Undecided Cluster

The most frequently repeated image showed a collapsed roadway and construction site in Vojvode Vlahovića Street in Belgrade, accompanied by the message that this is Belgrade under Mayor Aleksandar Šapić and the Serbian Progressive Party (@NaimLeoBesiri, X, September 24). In response to the same incident, the Kreni-Promeni movement called for the resignation of the city secretary responsible for inspections, N1 reports. Most appearances remained within that cluster.

Meta ads

We compared ads and feeds on Instagram. Among advertisers with active ads during this period, the Serbian Progressive Party and Aleksandar Vučić have spent the most to date.

In the pro-government Instagram feed cluster, the Serbian Progressive Party is the most prominent advertiser, with messages about state assistance and unity (@naprednjaci_srbija, Instagram, September 26), followed by Srpski interes and Nacionalni magazin. In the pro-student and undecided clusters, CRTA is the leading advertiser, providing information on voting at one’s place of temporary residence (@crta.rs, Instagram, September 22), alongside the Party of Freedom and Justice and Cenzolovka. IIn the pro-opposition feed cluster, CRTA ads call on the authorities to investigate possible trading in declarations of support for an electoral list in a Niš underpass (@crta.rs, Instagram, September 24).

Several ads target narrow demographic groups much more heavily than average. With a message about six years of fighting for the family, Simo Salapura targets women over 65. The Movement for the Restoration of the Kingdom of Serbia targets men aged 55-64 through an address by General Božidar Delić’s daughter to war veterans.

Rights and Freedoms in the Digital Environment

Citizens on social media report calls from pollsters asking questions on behalf of the Serbian Progressive Party, with no clear explanation of how they obtained the citizens’ telephone numbers. The case was recorded on September 21 as a violation of privacy and data-protection rights.

Clones of the N1 television and Vreme weekly websites appeared on similar domains with similar visual identities. N1 warned readers to be cautious. The perpetrator is unknown.

The editorial team of the Mašina news portal reported mass following of its Instagram account in short waves over the September 26-27 weekend; the account of photojournalist Gavrilo Andrić was also targeted. The pattern suggests that the mass following may be intended to enable subsequent sabotage of the accounts. The attack was repeated in a second wave. This week, Mašina was the most prominent account in the pro-student Instagram feed.

About the 2026 Election Monitoring

The 2026 election monitoring tracks online media coverage, the course of the campaign on social media, and violations of digital rights and freedoms. Findings are published in weekly reviews throughout the election campaign.

We monitor content from 25 online media outlets in Serbia and the feeds of ten simulated personas on TikTok, Instagram, and X. Persona clusters are based on content each persona actually received that week, rather than on an assigned political position, so a persona’s cluster may change from week to week.