The information portal "Rilindja.al" and several dubious portals with content in the Albanian language have published an article titled "Expenses for Albanians are increasing! Facebook and Instagram are available for lek, $11 per month."
After verifying the facts presented in the article, hibrid.info has determined that the title of this article is incorrect and does not correspond to the content.
The content includes an announcement from the head of META, Mark Zuckerberg, the company that owns the social media platforms Facebook and Instagram.
Zuckerberg has announced that, on these two social media platforms, account verification will be available for a fee for those interested in verifying their accounts with the "Blue Badge".
So, the headline placed by "Rilindja.al" and dubious portals, implies that the use of social media will be paid. Also, the news is not specifically about Albanians only, as might be implied by the headline.
Link to the article published on the "Rilindja.al" portal:
From what can be seen through the opening of this article, it is understood that the title makes a claim that, in fact, is not argued in the content. So, while the title claims that "Albanians will be obliged to pay for the use of Facebook and Instagram, the content presents a statement by Zuckerberg about a new paid service, but which is not mandatory for all users. Moreover, in this statement by the head of META, Albanians are not specifically highlighted, as claimed in the title.
Hibrid.info has found several articles that have transmitted Zuckerberg's authentic statement in Albanian, on which the medium "Rilindja.al" was also based, but distorting it through the title. (see here and here)
Zuckerberg announced this option through his personal account (here). (see announcement below translated into Albanian)
Good morning and new product announcement: this week we’re launching Meta Verified – a subscription service that allows you to verify your account with your personal ID card, receive a blue badge, get additional impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support. This new feature is all about increasing authenticity and security across all of our services. Meta Verified starts at $11,99 per month on the web or $14,99 per month on iOS. We’ll be rolling out to Australia and New Zealand this week and other countries soon.
During research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info managed to find this article with the same title also published on dubious portals such as "television-24.com","newz1.com”And“enews3post.com".
Analyze:
The portal "Rilindja.al" and several dubious portals have published an article, claiming in the title that Facebook and Instagram are becoming paid for Albanians.
However, the content emphasizes that account verification will be done for a fee, for people who want to verify them with the “Blue Tick.” Also, the news is not specifically about Albanians, as the title suggests.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this article as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
A “Disinformation” rating is given to media reporting that contains a “mix” of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful content. This rating will also address reports that have incorrect attributions or headlines that do not reflect the text in terms of information accuracy.