The Serbian media outlet Istinomer, which fact-checks news in the Western Balkans, has conducted its annual survey to select the “Lie of the Year” in Serbia.
Politicians’ statements are used as the sample for the survey, as reported by N1.
In this year’s survey, traditionally organized by Istinomer at the end of each year, readers chose the statement made by former Serbian Prime Minister and current Speaker of the National Assembly, Ana Brnabić, as the “Lie of the Year 2024.” The statement was: “The Jadar Project has been completely terminated.”
This refers to the lithium mining project in the Jadar Valley, which has caused protests and public opposition due to its potential environmental impact. When the Serbian government annulled the spatial planning regulation for the Jadar area, Ana Brnabić stated that this decision “absolutely ended the project” and “this is the end of everything related to the Jadar project and Rio Tinto.”
However, later, in a contradictory explanation, she clarified that she “never claimed that this project was bad for Serbia” and stated that the 2022 project had actually been “paused.”
“Precisely due to this contradictory explanation and inconsistency in public statements, we evaluated this declaration as false,” Istinomer stated.
Second place in this year’s survey went to a statement by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić: “Serbia is one of the safest countries in the world and in Europe.”
Third place was taken by the statement from Finance Minister Sinisa Mali: “The elections were as pure as a drop of water.”
Throughout 2024, Istinomer fact-checked a total of 55 statements from politicians and public officials in categories of truthfulness, consistency, promises, and misuse of facts.
“Negative evaluations dominated, indicating the use of manipulative techniques in public discourse,” Istinomer added.
Out of the total number of statements analyzed, only two were rated as true, three were rated as “short on legs” (inconsistent), and 22 were rated as false. Additionally, one statement was rated as inconsistent, five as misuse of facts, and two were unverifiable.
Since 2016, Istinomer has been organizing the “Lie of the Year” competition.
“Up until this year, Aleksandar Vučić has claimed the top spots.”
The “Lie of the Decade” poll, organized by Istinomer in 2019, was canceled due to a website attack and survey hacking.
“In 2025, the Istinomer team will continue to monitor how many government representatives and politicians are lying to us, how many are telling the truth, how consistent they are, and whether and to what extent they are fulfilling their promises to the citizens.”
