Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A video has been released showing the moment when two people are lying on the ground, while one of them has grabbed the other by the throat.
Ky video material alleging that an Albanian national in Barcelona, Spain, attempted to steal the camera of a photographer from China, who then used a martial arts technique to restrain the perpetrator until the police arrived, was published (May 1) on the “X” platform, by an account named, “VukFeNix”.
But what is the truth?
Hibrid.info has found that there is no person of Albanian nationality involved in the incident in question.
Hibrid.info has researched through the automated search program, “InVID” and has come across an article published in a Spanish-language medium about the incident in question (see here).
Spanish media outlet 20minutes.os reported that a Chinese tourist in Barcelona neutralized a North African man who tried to steal his camera using a martial arts grappling technique. The incident took place in a tourist area and was applauded by passersby. The man was later detained by Catalan police.
Which means that there are no people of Albanian nationality involved in the events.
Paragraph excerpted from the “20minutes.os” article
"According to testimonies shared by several people on social media, the Asian photographer was adjusting his equipment when the young man of North African origin approached him with the intention of grabbing his camera."
For the account “VukFeNix”
The account “VukFeNix” on the X platform (formerly Twitter) was created in 2022 and has over 900 followers, with content mainly in English and Serbian. It has a pro-Serbian and pro-Russian bias, and its content often has anti-Western, anti-Islamic and anti-Albanian messages. The account publishes fake videos linking criminal acts to Albanians, without sufficient evidence. Hibrid.info has dealt with such videos on several occasions, rating them depending on the rating methodology it uses (see here).
Analyze
The claim through a video footage that the person who attempted the robbery in Barcelona was Albanian is false.
Hibrid.info found that credible sources indicate that he was originally from North Africa.
Based on the evaluation methodology, hibrid.info rates the content as, "Disinformation".
rationale
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.