Clickbait content has dominated the misinformation ecosystem in Kosovo in the past week.
The clickbait articles were about events whose location is not disclosed, about the heat that has gripped Europe, about the earthquake in Mexico, and about accidents.
The fake news was about the Akinci drones, about the entry of 600 members of the 'Wagner' mercenary group.
Disinformation regarding the digital management of queues at the Citizen Service Center in the Municipality of Pristina, as well as the disinformation claim that there will be no more police in the north of the country without KFOR and EULEX.
Manipulation of facts about the presence of Kosovo Police in and around facilities in northern municipalities.
Conspiracy theory that Albanians are endangered by a chip that will be connected to the two satellites Albania 1 and 2.
Deceptive content related to prize games, as well as the biting of a child by stray dogs in Pristina.
It has been erroneously claimed that the Gjilani football club has played a friendly match with Luxembourg.
Fake news
The Facebook page “The Reis” posted several photos of Turkish “Akinci” drones on July 9 with a caption claiming that the military equipment shown in the image is a gift from Turkey to Kosovo. However, after verifying the facts based on research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info has not found such an announcement published in any credible media. (here)
The account named “kiyameti2024” has published a video claiming the entry of 600 members of the Russian mercenary group “Wagner” into Kosovo in early July. Based on the verification of the facts, it has been confirmed that the claim about the presence and entry of members of the Russian mercenary group “Wagner” in Kosovo during July is not true. The claim is based on an old video published in June and is not supported by facts and sources from official institutions. (here)
disinformation
The Municipality of Pristina announced on its official Facebook page on July 6 the start of digital queue management at the Citizen Service Center. However, after fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the Municipality of Pristina had offered this service to citizens years ago. In this announcement, the Municipality of Pristina states that “the Directorate of Administration, within the framework of administrative reforms, has started the project for digital queue management at the Citizen Service Center (CSC)”. However, there is no mention of the fact that such a service had been available for use even earlier. (here)
The information portal of the Klan Kosova television “KlanKosova.tv” has published an article, claiming through the title that there will be no more police in the north of the country without KFOR and EULEX. This claim is based on point number two of a press release issued on July 11 by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo, following the July 10 meeting in Bratislava between the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo, Besnik Bislimi, and the High Representative of the European Union, Miroslav Lajčak. After the verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, referring to point two of this release, it is clearly observed that it does not mention the agreement on the non-presence of the Kosovo police in the north without KFOR and EULEX. (here)
Unverified content/ Conspiracy theories/ Pseudoscience
The news outlet “Euronews Albania” has published an article claiming that Albanians are at risk from a chip that will be connected to the two satellites Albania 1 and 2, which were launched into space earlier this year in Albania. The claim is based on statements given in an interview on “Goodmorning Albanians”, a morning show on “Euronews Albania” television (July 06) by conspiracy theorist Arian Sllamnik. However, hibrid.info has proven that Sllamnik’s claims have no basis and that the show in question has created the space for promoting such claims. (here)
Manipulation of facts
Some media outlets claimed that after the agreement to de-escalate the situation in the north, the presence of the Kosovo police will be reduced to 25%, meaning 75% of them will be withdrawn from and around municipal buildings. Based on the post of the Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Bislimi, about reaching an agreement to de-escalate the situation in the north, the presence of police units in and around municipal buildings will be reduced by 25%. (here)
Clickbait
Doubtful portals with content in Albanian have published an article titled “Body of a lifeless baby found on the beach”. After verifying the facts, it has been confirmed that the title is a generalization that does not clarify the location of the incident. The news is clarified only in the content, which states that the incident took place in Roda de Bera, a coastal town on the Costa del Sol in Spain. (here)
The information portal "Kosova Sot" has published an article titled "Moderator returns the water bottle to himself after watching the 'Kosovo Assembly session'". This title implies that the moderator's action was influenced by the footage of today's events in the Kosovo Assembly. But hibrid.info has verified and found that the title does not correspond to the content of the article. (here)
The information portal “sot.com.al” has published an article titled “Powerful earthquake with magnitude 6.4, here was the epicenter”. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the title is a generalization that does not clarify where the event occurred. The news is clarified only in the content, which states “a magnitude 6.4 earthquake was recorded today with the epicenter on the coast of Chiapas in Mexico, the Geoscience Research Center (GFZ) announced”. Based on the “Contact” section on the website of this online medium, where its address appears to be in Tirana, this makes the generalization title leave room for misunderstanding among readers that the earthquake occurred in an Albanian-speaking country. (here)
The information portal “gazeta-shqip.com” has published an article titled “TRAGIC! Mother drowns her 1-year-old child, her husband was at work”. After checking the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the title of this article is a generalization that does not clarify where the event took place. After clicking on the article link, it is then clarified in the content, where it says “The mother drowned her 1-year-old son this Friday morning. The shocking event took place in Voghera (Pavia) in Italy”. Based on the “PERSONAL DATA” section on the website of this information portal, where its address appears to be in Tirana (here), this makes the generalization title leave room for misinformation to readers that the event took place in an Albanian-speaking country. (here)
Some media outlets have published articles with titles such as “Kurti: Mërgim Lushtaku cursed my mother” and “Kurti: Mërgim Lushtaku cursed my mother today, only my father’s property hurts. Kosovo has been handed over by time”. In both articles verified by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the lack of specification of the person making the statement in the title, as well as the lack of photographs, makes it unclear who made the statements. Through this title used in these articles, the author seems to have implied that it is about Prime Minister Albin Kurti, while the content makes it known that the statement was made by the MP of the Vetëvendosje Movement, Tinka Kurti. (here)
Lies
The Facebook page named “???????????? ???????????????????????????-?????????????????????????????????,” which has only 61 followers, publishes fake prize games with the claim that the winners will be rewarded with cars. This page, in the “About” section, does not have any information, address or contact, which makes its activity even more suspicious. After research conducted through online search engines, hirbid.info has confirmed that the aforementioned page has used the logo of the Albanian supermarket chain “Big Market”, trying to present itself as the official page of this company. (here)
Several Facebook pages on June 18 published news about a two-year-old child who had been bitten in the face by a stray dog in a square in Pristina. These pages in this announcement published photos of children with wounds on their faces, but the same child does not appear in them. Based on this suspicion, hibrid.info has verified the facts and, after research through online search engines, it was confirmed that the photos of the children belong to two different events in New Zealand and England. (here)
error
The news portal “Inlajmi” has incorrectly claimed that Gjilani played a friendly match with Luxembourg last night. After verifying the facts, it has been confirmed that the football club is facing FC Progrès Niederkorn, a football team from Luxembourg, in the framework of the qualifications for the “Europa Conference League”. (here)