On social media Facebook, the former candidate for deputy of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Arton Demhasaj, and the candidate for deputy of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Nick Krasniqi, have published a content that shows the portrait of the coordinator of the committees in the Vetëvendosje Movement, Dejona Mihali.
This material claims that she gave a statement to "ORA News". She is attributed with the following statement: "If the US insists on accepting their gas, they could face protests like in Tirana. We respect the US, but we know our own interests better."
The truth?
After online research by hibrid.info, this statement was not found published on the "ORA News" television portal or in any other medium.
FACTS
Hibrid.info initially searched through the "search" option on the "oranews.tv" website, where the results did not show any such publication by Mihali on this television.
Also, a Google search was conducted with the keywords of the alleged statement, but there was no media publication or credible source that confirmed it. (see here).
This has also been denied by the Vetevendosje Movement through its spokesperson Arlind Manjhuka (see here).
As of the writing of this article, the post published by Demhasaj has managed to collect 200 reactions, 428 comments and 30 shares (see here). While Krasniqi's post has garnered 18 reactions, 2 comments and 2 shares (see here).
From the readers' comments, it is noticeable that a significant number of them have perceived this content as true.
On June 4, the chargé d'affaires at the US Embassy in Kosovo, Anu Prattipati, called for Kosovo to join an American gas project in an opinion piece (see here).
Analyze
Content has been shared on Facebook attributing to Dejona Mihali an alleged statement to "ORA News" regarding American gas and possible protests against the United States of America.
Hibrid.info has verified that this statement is not found in "ORA News", in any other media, or on Google. It is not based on credible sources. The Vetëvendosje Movement has also denied this claim through its spokesperson.
Despite the lack of verification, the posts have received hundreds of reactions, comments, and shares, while a large portion of commenters have taken the content as true.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "fake news".
rationale
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.