Through one posting IN Facebook it is alleged that the American politician John Podesta has stated that Kosovo should not accept the punishment of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in exchange for the European path and that Europe is sacrificing Kosovo's history in the interest of Serbia.
"The European road, to a large extent, is paved with Russian asphalt," the statement attributed to Podesta also says.
What's wrong with this claim?
After research conducted online by hibrid.info, no evidence was found confirming that Podesta made this statement.
FACTS
In the post circulating on Facebook, the statement is presented as a quote from John Podesta, but is not accompanied by any source indicating when, where, or under what circumstances he uttered these words.
Searches for John Podesta's name and parts of this statement, in shqip and English, have not released any interview, speech, press release or credible media reporting that confirms the authenticity of the quote.
Podesta is an American political figure who served as chief of staff to US President Bill Clinton.
During the search, only two old sources were found where John Podesta spoke about Kosovo, namely a 2016 PBS interview (see here) and an article published by the Center for American Progress in 2007 (see here). Both address political developments related to Kosovo, but neither contains the statement that is circulating on Facebook.
Hibrid.info has not found any credible source or media report that confirms that Podesta said that Kosovo should not accept the KLA's punishment in exchange for the European path, or that Europe is sacrificing Kosovo's history in the interest of Serbia.
Analyze
A Facebook post falsely claims that American politician John Podesta has stated that Kosovo should not accept the punishment of the KLA in exchange for the European path.
After fact-checking by hibrid.info, no credible sources were found to confirm this quote. The two identified sources where Podesta spoke about Kosovo, published in 2007 and 2016, do not contain the statement circulating on Facebook.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Fake News".
rationale
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.