The article titled "EXCEPTIONAL: The Truth About How Russia Was Spreading Them Through Airplanes" was published by the dubious portal with content in the Albanian language "web1.sitenewspaper.com".
By verifying the facts in this article, hibrid.info has confirmed that this dubious portal has falsely claimed that the truth about the spread of the virus via airplanes has been discovered, alluding to COVID-19.
Even in the content of this article, it is falsely claimed that "Poland, Sweden and Norway are filing a complaint against the WHO because it is poisoning Europe, Reuters reports."
During research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info also found a denunciation from "Reuters", through which they explain the reason for not publishing this claim.
Link to the article published on the suspicious portal "web1.sitenewspaper.com":
The article was also shared on Facebook by the “Diaspora” page, which has nearly 50 followers. (see here)
During fact-checking by Reuters.com In January 2021, this false claim was reportedly first found posted on Facebook by Bulgarian users, who managed to amass over 100 shares each. (see here)
The illustrative photo showing an airplane has no connection to the lawsuits of these countries against the WHO, as during the research carried out, an authentic photo of this airplane, which belongs to the company Evergreen International Airlines, was found, while the photo was taken in May 2012. (see here)
This is not the first time that this article has been distributed by dubious portals in Kosovo, as it was published in December 2021 and in April of this year, and has also been verified by hibrid.info (see here and here)
Analyze:
The dubious portal "web1.sitenewspaper.com" has falsely claimed that it has discovered how the virus (Covid-19) is spread through airplanes.
During research conducted by hibrid.info, this article had begun to be distributed earlier in other languages, and was also verified by "Reuters.com", with the assessment as false.
In addition to the false claim, the illustrative photo used in this article is also not current, as it was taken in May 2012.
After verifying the facts based on the work methodology, hibrid.info has assessed this article as "fake news".
Reasoning:
The "Fake News" rating is given to media reports that are entirely the product of a medium that itself contains factually incorrect claims or information.
Content that is considered fake news can be reliably determined to have been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.