Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
Through a post published on Saturday (December 27) on Facebook by the account "World News", it is alleged that on an illegal route from Serbia, at the entrance to Kosovo, the Kosovo Police stopped a van that was transporting over 2 million euros and about 1 million Serbian dinars, suspected of being intended for vote buying.
According to this claim, two Serbian citizens are wanted and the money has already been confiscated.
The truth?
After verification of the facts conducted by hibrid.info, such information was not found published either by the Kosovo Police or in credible media.
Also, the photo placed in this content is from 2023, published on the official Europol website, which at that time had announced the arrest of several people who are considered "the biggest drug barons in the Balkans" (see here)
Hibrid.info searched the official Kosovo Police Facebook page for this information, but the results did not show any such announcement from this institution. (see here)
Also, in the 24-hour reports of the last two days (December 26, 27) issued by the Kosovo Police (BORDER POLICE DEPARTMENT), there is no report of the stopping of any illegal transportation of money from Serbia. (see pictures below)
Analyze:
Through a post published on December 27 on Facebook, it is falsely claimed that Kosovo Police have stopped a van from Serbia with over 2 million euros and around 1 million Serbian dinars, suspected of vote buying.
After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that this information has not been confirmed by either the Kosovo Police or credible media. Also, the photo used in the post is not related to the alleged case. The same was taken in 2023 and was published by Europol, as part of an action against drug trafficking in the Balkans.
Also, in the official announcements of the Kosovo Police on Facebook and in the 24-hour reports of this institution for December 26 and 27, there is no report of stopping an illegal transport of money from Serbia.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
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.