Original article (in Serbian) was published on 29/4/2025; Author: Stefan Kosanović
Students from Serbia have been running a relay marathon to Brussels for five days now, and today they are expected to reach the Austrian town of Oberpullendorf, while two days ago they spent the night in Varazdin, Croatia. This inspired SNS MP Vladimir Djukanovic to post today on the social network X an artificially generated photo showing the students eating food with their hands under the Croatian flag. It is obvious that the image was AI-generated, as it contains many errors. Djukanovic clearly used it just to mock the students from Serbia, who were warmly welcomed in Croatia.
After the students arrived in Strasbourg by bicycle and delivered a letter to the institutions of the European Union containing information about the current situation in Serbia, they decided to organize a new endeavor – a relay marathon from Serbia to Brussels.
Their goal is to attend a session and discuss the current situation in Serbia and the demands they previously presented to the institutions in Strasbourg. The students plan to deliver new letters to the European Parliament, in which they will describe in detail the circumstances in Serbia, not only over the past few months since the collapse of the canopy, but also over the last several years.
Today marks the fifth day of the student relay run, and they are expected to arrive in the Austrian town of Oberpullendorf during the day.
Two days ago, on April 27, the students ended the day in Varazdin, Croatia, where they were given a ceremonial welcome attended not only by local citizens, but also by the mayor and members of parliament.
On that occasion, photos of the warm welcome were shared on social media and in the media, including banners prepared by the Croatian hosts, as well as food and drinks provided to support the students on their long journey.
Among the published photos, one showing the students eating at a long table went viral. Many users ironically compared it to footage from a student march in Serbia, where students ended their day on a football field in Indjija, sleeping under the stars because the town’s mayor allegedly didn’t allow them to spend the night in the sports hall.
The friendly gestures from neighbors in Croatia were not well-received by the authorities in Serbia.
Likely inspired by the mentioned photo, SNS MP Vladimir Djukanovic posted an artificially generated image on his official profile on the social network X, showing the students sitting at a table and eating with their hands, despite cutlery being visible on the table, under a large Croatian flag hanging above them.
It is clear that the image is artificially generated, fingers are deformed, glasses of water pass through plates, the Croatian flag is smudged, and the faces of the people are distorted.
Alongside the AI-generated photo, Djukanovic wrote: “We hope that our future, our wonderful marathon-running children, aren’t hungry. That they’ve had a good meal. Good luck, children.”
Djukanovic limited the ability to comment on his post, but some users still shared it with their own remarks. One wrote: “The government is using AI-generated photos to portray students in a negative light. It doesn’t get any lower than this”. Djukanovic replied to this comment: “Exactly. Deserved by those who boast about being welcomed by the Ustashe”.
Within just a few hours, the post had over 11,000 views, 120 shares, and more than 200 likes.
While the students are symbolically building bridges of friendship as they run through the region, the member of parliament has chosen to portray their initiative in a negative light, fueling suspicion and hostility by misrepresenting the hospitality the students received in Croatia.
Authentic photographs from Varazdin, showing the students being warmly welcomed, do not align at all with the narrative that the Serbian Progressive Party has promoted for years. That narrative is based on claims that neighboring countries are hostile toward Serbia and do not wish for its success or stability – a rhetoric deeply rooted in Serbia’s radical political tradition.
Shortly after posting the AI-generated image, Djukanovic also attempted to downplay the students’ welcome in Graz. Using quotation marks to sarcastically question the sincerity of the event, he wrote: “In Austria, more precisely in Graz, descendants of the Ustashe, the Burgenland Croats, are preparing a welcome for ‘our children’ and ‘our future’. Brilliant!”
Djukanovic’s vocabulary on the social network X often includes the word “Ustasha” and it appears very frequently, used at least 40 times in the past two years alone.
According to an analysis published by Raskrikavanje of Serbian tabloid front pages in 2024, Djukanovic regularly appears as a source in articles with manipulative content, biased tone, and violations of basic journalistic standards.
Djukanovic also has a second career, as a lawyer, which he entered only a few years ago. However, it seems his services are reserved exclusively for individuals connected to his party or to Aleksandar Vucic, who might face legal threats. That list includes, among others, Andrej Vucic, Predrag Koluvija, Dijana Hrkalovic, and former Palilula municipality president Aleksandar Jovicic.
