The news portal "Nacionale.com" published an article last night (July 31) claiming that a police officer and two citizens were reportedly injured in gunfire between police and barricaders in the north of the country. However, the same claim has been denied by the Kosovo Police.
This Albanian-language media outlet had written this article during a time when, in the north of the country, local Serbs had blocked the roads leading to the Brnjak and Jarinjë border crossings with barricades, to oppose the Kosovo Government's decision for reciprocity towards Serbia.
This portal claims to have obtained this news from unconfirmed sources.
Hibrid.info brings photos taken from the article published on Nacionale.com, as the same, shortly after publication, removed it from their portal and Facebook page (see here).
However, this was immediately denied by the Kosovo Police. Through an official announcement, the Kosovo Police said that there is no official information about any injuries to citizens or any police officers. (see here)
Excerpt from the Kosovo Police announcement:
According to official information to date, road blockages continue in several different locations in North Mitrovica towards the two border crossings Jarinje and Bernjak, which are closed to traffic.
So far, there is no official information about any injuries, which tends to destabilize the situation and create panic.
The Kosovo Police continues its engagement with police units, in providing security to all citizens without distinction, in the interest of maintaining public order and safety.
This article, falsely claiming the injury of a police officer and two Serbian citizens, has also been published by other portals, citing "Nacionale.com", which have not yet deleted it. (see here, here and here)
Analyze:
The portal "Nacionale.com" has published an article with the false claim, based on inaccurate sources, that a police officer and two Serbian citizens were injured in the north of the country.
The Kosovo Police reacted to this, denying the news about the injury of the aforementioned persons. Subsequently, the portal "Nacionale.com" deleted this article from its website, but the same continues to circulate online from other portals.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses 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.