The Facebook page "Union of Albanians in Europe - European Union of Albanians" has published (August 6) a piece of content that features a portrait of the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama.
The following inscription is placed above the photograph: "Edi Rama: Albanians from Kosovo and Macedonia who will support the Flamingos protest in Tirana will be declared non grata. Do not interfere in the internal affairs of the Albanian state."
What's wrong with this content?
Fact-checking conducted by hibrid.info found no evidence that Edi Rama had made such a statement.
FACTS
The first step of verification was a Google search of the text of the alleged statement. The results did not indicate that it was published by any credible media or source (see here).
The image published by the Facebook page also features the logo of the Euronews Albania media outlet, creating the impression that the statement was published by this media outlet. For this reason, hibrid.info searched the official Euronews Albania website to verify whether the statement was ever published.
However, the search yielded no results. The message appears in the “Search” section of the website: "No results were found for your search", which indicates that such a statement was not published by this medium (see here).
On June 20, during his speech at the meeting of the Socialist Party parliamentary group, Rama declared that there is a significant international mix in the protests against the project in Zvërnec, emphasizing that the government cannot be guided by the noise or pressure of social networks.
"There is a huge international mix, people from Kosovo and Macedonia are coming to save Albania on behalf of Albanians, while people who speak with reason understand very well that there is something wrong here," Rama said, reports "Euronews".
So, in no case has Rama said that "Albanians from Kosovo and Macedonia who support the Flamingos protest in Tirana will be declared non grata. as claimed in the content published on Facebook.
A little context
Protests against the Albanian government have entered their third month. They began in reaction to a project to build a tourist resort in Zvërnec, in southern Albania.
During this period, Albanian authorities declared two North Macedonian citizens, Bekim Halimi and Valon Bela, persona non grata.
A deportation order was also issued for Bela. According to the Albanian Ministry of Interior, the measure was taken based on the Law on Foreigners, which provides for the declaration of a foreign citizen who acts or propagandizes against sovereignty, national security, constitutional order, or public order and safety as an undesirable person.
In June, Bela posted photos on Facebook from participating in the protests known as the "Flamingo Revolution".
Meanwhile, Bekim Halimi was banned from entering Albania for 10 years. He is an Albanian theologian from North Macedonia, known for his religious activity and studies conducted in Jordan (see the full article published by REL).
On June 25, Albania also banned the entry of a religious preacher from Kosovo, Ikballe Huduti, for 15 years, whom the authorities considered a threat to the country's security. Huduti had participated in protests against the Rama government (see article published by REL).
Analyze
Content published on Facebook falsely claims that the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has declared that Albanians from Kosovo and North Macedonia who support the protests in Tirana will be declared personae non gratae.
The Euronews Albania logo was also used in this content, creating the false impression that the statement was published by this medium. However, hibrid.info's verification showed that there is no evidence that Rama made such a statement, while Euronews Albania has not published such news or position on its website.
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.