Serbia Launches Anti-Corruption Portal, Critics Call It a Marketing Stunt

Serbia has launched a new portal, "Ko si bre ti?" (Who are you, anyway?), designed for citizens to anonymously report corrupt and abusive officials. President Aleksandar Vučić announced the platform's launch, promising to personally review each report and that his team would respond to most submissions. He also claimed that 5.7 million clicks on the site within 24 hours were an attempt by foreign entities to disrupt the platform, alongside 429 official reports received.

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This is a 'play,' a marketing campaign by the authorities.

However, Božo Drašković, a former member of the Anti-Corruption Agency's board and a university professor, has labeled the initiative a "farce" and a mere marketing campaign. He argues that the government is feigning a fight against corruption while being the primary source of it. Drašković contends that President Vučić is fully aware of the pervasive corruption within his administration and has systematically weakened institutions meant to combat it, preventing them from investigating those in power.

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Where could corruption be if not within the ranks of this entire structure, at the top of which stands Aleksandar Vučić? He knows it all. He knows the complete, entire structure of corruption and how it functions.

Drašković described Serbian society as "deeply corrupt" after 13-14 years under the current government, noting that a single party controls all levels of government and facilitates corrupt practices. He criticized the government's recent economic measures, such as one-time cash payments to citizens, as "social bribery" aimed at boosting ratings rather than addressing systemic social and economic inequalities. He compared these handouts to fishermen throwing corn into a river to lure fish before catching them.

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We have become a deeply corrupt society, thanks primarily to the authorities.

The professor believes the "Ko si bre ti?" portal serves the same purpose: to create an illusion of action against corruption while avoiding fundamental solutions. He suggested that the government is conditioning citizens to expect benefits for their loyalty, rather than implementing systemic changes to tackle deep-rooted societal problems.

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The announced economic measures in the form of one-time cash payments to all adult citizens represent a kind of 'social bribery of ignorant people, to improve ratings.'