Original article (in Serbian) was published on 27/8/2025; Author: Teodora Koledin
Portal Informer reported that students participating in the blockade of the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad were “performing sect rituals” in the building, drawing this conclusion based on an interior photograph that supposedly “strikes fear into the bones.” The photo shows various banners, a large black magnifying glass, and a cardboard coffin. These, however, are protest props. The article also claims that “many sect symbols” were found at the faculty, but out of all those “many,” Informer does not list a single one. The entire body of evidence thus comes down to the mentioned photograph, labeled as a “print screen.” Let’s take a closer look at what appears in the picture.
On the large magnifying glass
The large black magnifying glass was used in February during the protest action “Search for the Rector”, organized by the Academic Network “Free University” in Novi Sad. The local news portal 021.rs also covered the event, and the same object can be seen in two photos from their gallery (1, 2).
On the coffin
The Tragač editorial team contacted the students blocking the Faculty of Philosophy to establish the purpose of the improvised cardboard coffin. They explained that it was a prop created for the performance “Competition for the Worst Institution,” held in front of the courthouse, with the aim of illustrating election fraud mechanisms. Using the coffin, students wanted to demonstrate how “the dead vote.” In the end, however, they abandoned the idea because they considered it “too morbid.”.
“A girl from the faculty made the coffin, and we felt bad about destroying it,” they added in their response. It should also be noted that speculation regarding the coffin and supposed “sect symbols” at the Faculty of Philosophy was also spread by Novosti.
On the “ideologues of the blockaders” who allegedly changed their minds
The claims about “sect rituals” are not the only media manipulation regarding yesterday’s events. In a longer article commenting on events at the Faculty of Philosophy in Novi Sad, Informer states that “even their ideologues and those who had strongly supported them have now had enough, since no one wants to put up with idleness, loafing around, and the destruction of everything someone touches.”
Although Informer presents this as evidence that professors have switched sides, none of the professors who entered the Faculty of Philosophy building with Dean Milivoje Alanović were among the signatories of the initial letter of support for the students in blockade, a letter backed by more than 5,000 university teachers, associates, and researchers across Serbia.
