Content has been published on Facebook claiming that former EU envoy for Kosovo and Austrian diplomat, Wolfgang Petritsch, has made a statement regarding the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti.
The published content claims that Petritsch said: "Albin Kurti is the most prepared politician at the negotiating table. He does not speak with slogans, but with facts and a logic that often puts career diplomats in difficulty. He has brought a new level of state dignity to the region."
This content was published on August 22 by the account “Sabit Salihu" on Facebook.
What's wrong with this content?
After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has found that Wolfgang Petritsch did not make the statement attributed to him in this content.
The same claim has been circulating on Facebook before, at least since December 2025, as evidenced by these publications (see here and here).
FACTS
Initially, hibrid.info conducted a Google search using parts of the statement attributed to the Austrian diplomat. The search results did not yield any media publications or other credible sources that would confirm this statement (see here).
The search was also conducted in English and German, but in these cases no results were found from credible sources that would support the claim (see here and here).
While researching this claim, hibrid.info found articles published in online media in which Petritsch spoke about Albin Kurti.
In some of these cases, Petritsch has given positions on Kurti and the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue process, as can be seen in these publications. Radio Free Europe and Time.
However, in none of these publications nor in other sources found during verification, Petritsch does not appear to have made the statement attributed to him in the content published on Facebook.
Analyze
A content published on Facebook attributes a statement praising Albin Kurti to Austrian diplomat Wolfgang Petritsch.
Verification conducted by hibrid.info shows that there are no credible sources that prove that the Austrian diplomat made this statement. The same claim has been circulating on Facebook since December 2025.
Although Petritsch has spoken on various occasions about Kurti and the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, none of the statements found contain the quote published on Facebook.
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.