Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
An article titled "Over 50% of healthcare staff from Kosovo work in Germany".
it CONTENT with this title it was published on Monday (November 3) by the online medium "gazetaexpress.com".
What's wrong with this title?
The wording of the title in this way implies that more than half of the healthcare workforce in Kosovo is already working in Germany.
Meanwhile, the truth is that the number of citizens from Kosovo working in the German healthcare system is equal to 50.3% of the number of those working in this sector in Kosovo.
The claim has also been published as an article in media outlets such as: "epokaere.com","gazetametro.com","democracy.com","frontonline.net" and in the form of video material on the medium's YouTube channel "news.net".
The content published by “gazetaexpress.com” referred to a publication on the website of the magazine “monitor.al” (see here).
The article published by this magazine is titled "Health at risk, 30% of staff work in Germany”, which refers to data for Albania. These two articles, although very similar in structure, sources and content, differ in their main focus: the “gazetaexpress.com” article places Kosovo at the center, while the “monitor.al” one focuses on Albania.
The information presented in the title is also confirmed within the text when it is stated that, “A recent study in Germany on migration to the Western Balkan countries found that approximately 50% of healthcare staff from Kosovo had migrated to Germany by 2023.
However, a different wording of the same figure is given later in the text, when it is noted that, “In 2023, the number of citizens from Kosovo working in the German healthcare system was equal to 50.3% of the domestic healthcare workforce.
This statement differs from the one presented in the title as it creates ambiguity regarding how the figure presented in the title is interpreted.
Therefore, hibrid.info has researched the study, which the media outlets that have made the claim have referred to. Hibrid.info found the research paper document, with the title "Migration flows from the Western Balkans to Germany: consequences and recommendations", published by "Bruegel” (European think tank specializing in economics) (see here).
This document states that, "In 2023, the number of Kosovars working in the German healthcare system was equal to 50.3 % of the local health workforce in Kosovo” (see here).
This means that the percentage of Kosovars (50.3%) working in the healthcare sector in Germany in 2023 was comparable to the entire healthcare workforce at that time working in Kosovo.
According to the results of a publication by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS), the total number of public sector health workers in Kosovo in 2023 was 13,894 (see here).
Analyze:
The headline "Over 50% of Kosovo's healthcare staff work in Germany," which refers to a research paper by a Brussels-based think tank, is incorrect.
The information gives the impression that more than half of all Kosovar healthcare workers work in Germany, while the actual data shows that the given percentage of 50.3% is comparable to the total healthcare workforce that Kosovo had in 2023.
Therefore, based on the working methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Manipulation of facts".
Reasoning:
“Factual manipulation” is a rating given to informational content that uses facts known to be accurate but interprets them in a distorted manner. These reports typically use accurate information to draw incorrect conclusions or claims, thereby misleading consumers of media content about the actual meaning of the facts presented.