“'Albania is done, Kosovo is done!'/ Diaspora flocked to Tirana yesterday, Albin Kurti's speech to the Assembly: The main problem is the departure of youth! We must restore trust in institutions and the state” is the title of an article published by the Albanian language portal "balkanweb.com", on June 21.
The image shows the acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, while in the background a photograph of the protest in Tirana appears.
The same claim was also published on several other portals and on their pages in Facebook (see here, here and here). The images published with this claim have received thousands of likes and hundreds of comments. Among the commenters, it is seen that the content has been taken for granted.
The truth?
While the title leaves room to interpret that Kurti was commenting on the protests against the project in Zvërnec, the article published a statement he gave four years ago in the Albanian Parliament.
The content of the article itself indicates that the speech is earlier.
Verification of the facts has shown that Kurti gave the speech in the Albanian Parliament on November 27, 2022, on the eve of Flag Day (see here).
A Google search with the words "Kurti speaks about the protests in Albania"has not resulted in any credible informational articles.
context:
For more than three weeks, protests have been taking place in Albania against a major tourism project in the Pishë Poro-Nartë protected area near Vlora. The project involves the construction of luxury hotels and villas worth billions of euros and is linked to foreign investors, including previously mentioned plans by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump.
Residents, activists, and civil society are protesting mainly due to the potential impact on the sensitive environment of the area, land ownership disputes, and the lack of transparency about the project and how it was approved (see here).
In several cases, Hibrid.info has handled content linking Kurti's name to the protests in Tirana (see here).
Analyze:
The headlines of articles that imply that the acting Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has commented on the recent protests in Tirana are incorrect.
The content of the article itself makes it clear that the statements have no connection to current developments in Albania. Verification shows that the speech was delivered on November 27, 2022, in the Albanian Parliament, on the eve of Flag Day.
Likewise, no credible source has been found that proves that Kurti has spoken about the recent protests.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the headlines as "misinformation".
rationale
"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.