{"id":5723,"date":"2026-10-05T12:52:50","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T12:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharefoundation.info\/?p=5723"},"modified":"2026-10-06T09:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T09:45:56","slug":"elections-26-truth-in-the-mirror","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sharefoundation.info\/en\/elections-26-truth-in-the-mirror\/","title":{"rendered":"ELECTIONS 26: Truth in the Mirror"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photo: Zbor Narodni heroji Novi Sad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week #03<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the week after Vu\u010di\u0107\u2019s resignation, almost every major event was told in two versions. Each stayed within the media outlets and feeds serving its intended audience, while the other audience barely encountered it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third week of election campaign monitoring covers September 28\u2013October 4. A total of 30,540 articles were collected from 25 monitored online news outlets. On social media, 136,947 posts were analyzed from the feeds of ten simulated personas on TikTok, Instagram, and X.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That week, each side had its own case of violence against a woman. A Kreni-Promeni city councilor said the mayor of Belgrade had attacked her, while the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) claimed that a Students\u2019 List supporter had hit one of its activists in Novi Sad. Both cases were told in two versions, with pro-government media giving more space to the one involving an SNS victim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week in Brief<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In online media, the week began with the handover of duties<\/a> on September 28, when Ana Brnabi\u0107 became acting president and Vu\u010di\u0107 became the SNS candidate for prime minister. It ended with a rally at Belgrade Arena on October 3. In between, pro-government media covered the \u0160api\u0107 case through his defense and presented the Novi Sad incident as an attack by Students\u2019 List supporters. The Students\u2019 List rally in Novi Pazar, held on the same evening as the Arena rally, became \u201cthe other image of Serbia\u201d the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On social media, the \u0160api\u0107 case was the main story, except in pro-government users\u2019 feeds. The Novi Sad incident circulated in two opposing versions, each within its own circle of like-minded users. The leading pro-government bot disappeared, and four days later an account with an almost identical name appeared and took its place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wave of bot accounts following Instagram users continued, a student internet radio station was taken offline by an attack for the second time in eight days, and two cases of manipulative content were recorded.In online media, the week belonged to Vu\u010di\u0107 and the electoral list. Vu\u010di\u0107 ranked first, while the list rose from ninth to second place. Victory jumped from 194th to 58th. Student ranked 247th, while the adjective studentski, meaning student-related, ranked 104th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Words That Marked the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n