Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
Through a Facebook post from the account "Moses the Golem"It is alleged that former President of the United States of America (USA), George Bush, has made a statement about former President of Kosovo, Hashim Thaçi.
In this post he writes "THACI REPRESENTS THE KLA IN THE HAGUE. THE LEADER OF THE WAR AND OF INDEPENDENCE IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL. I BELIEVE IN HIS INNOCENCE. HE AND THE PEOPLE OF KOSOVO FIGHTED AGAINST OPPRESSION."
Bush allegedly made this statement to ABC NEWS television.
The truth?
After fact-checking conducted by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that Bush never made such a statement about Thaçi.
Hibrid.info initially searched on Google with keywords in English. "George W. Bush: Thaçi represents the KLA in The Hague" (George W. Bush: Thaçi represents the KLA in The Hague), but the results do not show any publication in credible media. (see here)
Hibrid.info also searched the official website of the American television "ABC NEWS" regarding this statement, but the same has not been found published by this medium. (see here)
Also, there is a television station in Albania with a similar name, “ABC NEWS AL”. Hibrid.info has also searched the official website of this medium, and no such statement given by Bush about Thaçi has been found. (see here)
Why is this content being treated?
The publisher of this content on Facebook, as of the writing of this article, has managed to collect over 2,500 reactions, over 200 comments and over 120 shares on this post. (see here)
In the comments section, it is noted that most readers have taken this content as truth. (see here)
Analyze
The claim that former US President George W. Bush has issued a statement in support of Hashim Thaçi and his trial in The Hague, citing "ABC News" as the source, is false.
After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that such a statement has not been published by any credible media outlet and is not found on the official website of "ABC News" in the US, nor on "ABC News AL" in Albania.
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.