Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
Content is being published claiming that Eurovision organizers violated their rules by allowing the Kosovo flag to be displayed during the broadcast of the festival, even though it was strictly prohibited under the new EBU rules.
Reports with this claim were published today (May 14) by Serbian-language media outlets such as "b92.net”And“courier.rs".
But what is the truth?
Hibrid.info has found that there was no ban on waving the flag of Kosovo or other non-participating countries. The restrictions on flags apply only to artists representing the participating countries, not to the audience in the hall.
The articles featured a photo of a woman holding a Kosovo flag in public and took it as a trigger for reporting what was considered a violation.
Both articles mention that the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has announced new rules for Eurovision 2025, which prohibit the entry and display of any flags other than those belonging to the countries participating in the contest. This includes symbols of the LGBTQ+ community, the Palestinian flag, and even the flag of the European Union.
Based on this reporting, it is claimed that the Kosovo flag should not be allowed either.
But, hibrid.info has found several articles in English published by media such as "cnn.com”And“euronews.com".
It clarifies that the artists who will perform will only have the right to use the national flags of the participating countries.
The texts do not single out the Kosovo flag, but mention the symbols of the LGBTQ+ community, the Palestinian flag, and the European Union (EU) flag, which will be allowed to be used by the audience.
It states that under the new policy, spectators in Basel, Switzerland, are allowed to wave any flag permitted under Swiss law. Based on the fact that Switzerland recognizes Kosovo's statehood and that the waving of the Kosovo flag was recorded to be in public, the claim that this action violates the festival rules does not hold true.
Analyze
The claim that Eurovision organizers violated the rules by allowing the display of the Kosovo flag in public does not hold up.
Hibrid.info has found that EBU rules limit the use of flags only to participating artists, not to the audience in the hall.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content as "Manipulation of facts" and "Disinformation".
rationale
“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.
"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.