An online survey conducted in response to BIRN’s analysis “Pumping Out the Mine and the Budget” shows deep polarisation toward Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić, as well as a relatively high level of trust in BIRN among the internet audience that participated in the study. When it comes to Vučić as prime minister, as many as 61.7% of respondents hold a very negative view, and an additional 9.4% a negative one—more than 71% negative ratings in total. A similar pattern appears in the assessment of Vučić as a “fighter against corruption”: 57.2% rate him very negatively, and 15% negatively.
The strongest criticism is directed at Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS): 37.8% of respondents have a negative view and 30% a very negative one—almost 68% unfavourable ratings in total. Post-flood recovery fares no better: 47.2% rate it very negatively and 24.4% negatively, pointing to a dominant impression that the consequences of the crisis were managed poorly.
On the other hand, BIRN as a media actor performs substantially better: 19.4% of respondents have a very positive view and 30% a positive one (almost 49.5% combined), while the total share of negative ratings is relatively low (11.7%). Still, the share of those with no opinion is high (20.6%), suggesting that part of the audience perceives BIRN more as a “specialised” than a broadly recognised source.
When assessing the quality of the article itself, most respondents consider it well-grounded: 70.6% say the volume of facts is “fully” or “mostly” appropriate, and an almost identical share rate its relevance the same way (67.2%). They are more cautious regarding verifiability: positive ratings (“fully” + “mostly”) drop to 57.2%, with nearly a fifth neutral. The most sensitive point is space for “the other side”: here positive ratings are 51.1%, while as many as a third remain in-between or sceptical, showing that the audience—even when supportive of investigative reporting—expects stronger procedural balance.
Key finding: the text rarely “converts” readers. The most common response is that it did not change their view, but reinforced it. For Vučić as prime minister, 55.6% say this, and k