Some media outlets have claimed that in Switzerland, Albanians have been banned from investing in a 15 million franc mosque.
In the content, Albanian-language media have written based on the medium's reporting "srf.ch" in Switzerland. It is noted that 5 thousand signatures have been collected against this project. The Albanian-language media publication, which is being handled by hibrid.info, contains a photograph of the rumored project for the million-dollar mosque.
Title claim "Swiss collect 5 thousand signatures - Albanian investment in 15 million franc mosque banned" was found published in online media in Albanian "signal.com","indexonline.net","news.net","jepize.com","telegrafi.com".
The truth?
The claim that this is about stopping the multi-million dollar mosque project in Switzerland is incorrect. This is about another mosque, in a different location.
Also, the mosque project, according to the text of "srf.ch", was temporarily halted by the Albanian community after complaints from local residents, but not by decision of the authorities.
How was it reported?
The Albanian media have based their findings on an April 8 article from "srf.ch". "Villagers obstruct mosque construction", is the title of this article. It notes that the Albanian community in Siebnen is withdrawing plans for the mosque after thousands of people signed a petition against it.
The article talks about the tensions in Siebnen, Canton of Schwyz, in recent weeks. According to the article, the Muslim community there is seeking talks with the local council to find an alternative location. The article quotes Sinan Sadriu, the community's chairman, as saying that they do not want the citizens to be divided.
The article also discusses the controversy over mosques in several locations around Switzerland.In St. Gallen, there was considerable uproar when plans for a large multi-million-franc mosque were recently made public., the article says, among other things.
So the article indicates that it is about different mosques.
Hibrid.info has found previous articles showing the same photo, where the construction of the mosque in Siebnen was planned (see here).
The same property also appears in the "srf.ch" publication within the video:
Meanwhile, the photograph used in the media whose content is being discussed represents something else.
On April 5th "blick.ch" published an article titled: "Albanians plan multimillion-euro mosque in St.Gallen."
"This is what the new El-Hidayeh mosque in St.Gallen is expected to look like," "is the caption of the photo published in the Swiss-language media."
This is the same photo that is now being used by Albanian-language media as the "banned project."
Even a search on Google Maps shows that the two locations are about an hour's drive away, or about 67 kilometers (see here).
The article with the incorrect claim that the controversial multi-million dollar mosque in St.Gallen has been banned has also been published on the Facebook pages of these media outlets. Meanwhile, “telegrafi.com” has changed the title and content. This is confirmed by the URL of the link, but also the post on one of its Facebook pages (see here).
Analyze:
The claim that a 15 million franc Albanian mosque has been banned in Switzerland is incorrect.
This is a project in Siebnen that has been temporarily suspended by the Albanian community itself after local objections, not by the authorities.
The media has mistakenly used photos of another project in St. Gallen, creating misinformation.
Therefore, based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses these claims as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
"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.