This automatically translated article was originally published by Istinomer.
A photograph circulating on social media and presented as an SNS membership form allegedly signed by Ilija Srdanović is not authentic evidence of his membership in the party. In addition to unnatural and highly uniform characteristics in the purported handwriting, the document shows part of an alleged personal identification number that does not match Srdanović’s publicly available date of birth.
- The disputed photograph is presented as an SNS membership form containing Ilija Srdanović’s alleged personal details.
- The way the information is written contains several inconsistencies characteristic of digitally altered content.
- The first seven visible digits of the alleged personal identification number do not correspond to Srdanović’s date of birth.
- Under its rules, the SNS maintains an internal membership register, meaning its membership cannot be verified through a public database.
- We rate the posts as misuse of visual content.
A photograph of a form bearing the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) letterhead has been circulating on social media, accompanied by claims that it is a membership application filled out by Ilija Srdanović, a professor and cardiologist from Novi Sad and the lead candidate of the “Students’ List.”
The photograph, however, does not constitute authentic evidence that Srdanović was or is a member of the SNS. On the contrary, the way the first name, parent’s name, surname and numbers are written on the purported membership form shows a striking uniformity in the style, shape and size of the characters, unlike natural handwriting and consistent with digitally inserted content.
In addition, the photograph shows the first seven visible digits of Srdanović’s alleged personal identification number (JMBG): 0709970. The first seven digits of a JMBG indicate a person’s date of birth in day-month-year format, meaning this sequence would correspond to Sept. 7, 1970. Ilija Srdanović, however, was born on Aug. 7, 1970, according to publicly available biographical information. His JMBG would therefore begin with the sequence 0708970.
In other words, the information allegedly left visible in the photograph does not match the publicly available information about the person whose name appears on the document.
Verification of formal party membership is further complicated by the fact that, under its Statute and Membership Regulations, the SNS maintains an internal membership register. The regulations state that membership begins with the signing and submission of a membership application, after which the information is entered into the membership records, while the original applications are archived at the party headquarters.
Political party membership is also considered a special category of personal data under Serbia’s Personal Data Protection Act.
