During the period 4–9 May, monitoring of media and social platforms has highlighted a marked dominance of fake news, which was distributed mainly through social networks and suspicious websites.
During this period, fake news was published mainly on Facebook, through dubious pages and accounts such as “TV Prishtina” and “Mërgata me LDK-në”. The main topics were related to political and electoral developments in Kosovo, including false claims of support and investment from the President of the United Arab Emirates for Vjosa Osmani, publication of polls without verifiable sources and methodologies, as well as conspiracy theories involving George Soros, Albin Kurti and President Osmani. Deceptive claims of a socio-economic nature were also distributed, such as the fake news about the allocation of 100 euros to pensioners, creating confusion among the public regarding alleged government decisions.
As part of the disinformation identified during this period, unfounded claims regarding election polls and political developments have been shared on Facebook. One case includes the claim that the Vetëvendosje Movement is leading by around 52% in a recent poll, published through the dubious website “trayedit.com”, without providing sources, methodology or verifiable data. Another disinformation has circulated through a photo claiming that Albin Kurti and Aleksandar Vučić were together in Armenia in a “brotherly” meeting against Kosovo. Verification showed that Vučić did not attend the summit in Yerevan and the photo was old, taken during an informal meeting in 2022 within the framework of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
During the monitoring, cases of clickbait were also identified, where the headlines were formulated in a misleading way to encourage clicks and reactions from the public. The portal “veriu.info” published an article with the title “A big man jumps inside prison cells, two people lose their lives”, without clarifying in the title that the event had taken place in Greece, creating the impression that it was a case in Kosovo. Only after opening the article was the real location of the event understood. Another case is related to a Facebook post with the title “OFFICIAL | PDK and LDK reach coalition”, which implied a political agreement at the central level. In fact, the content of the article was only about cooperation at the local level in Pristina. The general wording of the headline, especially on the eve of the parliamentary elections, has influenced the misinterpretation of the information by readers.
During the monitoring, cases of conspiracy theories and scams on social media were also identified. A claim published by the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia regarding the burglary of the home of a pensioner couple in Fushë Kosovë/Kosovo Polje insinuated that the perpetrators were Albanians and that the case had an ethnic motive. However, no evidence was provided to support these claims, while the case does not even appear in the official 24-hour report of the Kosovo Police. In parallel, fraudulent content was also distributed on Facebook promising online jobs with daily earnings of 50 to 200 euros for “simple tasks”. The verification showed that the page publishing this offer had minimal activity, a lack of transparency and no evidence that it represented a legitimate company or employment agency, raising strong suspicions of financial fraud or misuse of user data.
disinformation
A Facebook post claims that the Vetëvendosje Movement is leading by around 52% according to a recent poll. However, the article shared by the website “trayedit.com” does not provide any concrete evidence for this claim. The content lacks key data such as the company that conducted the poll, the methodology or detailed results. There are also no verifiable sources or supporting documents. Searches do not yield any such polls published recently. (here)
A photo shared on Facebook claims that Kurti and Vučić are together in Armenia and that they met in a “brotherly” context against Kosovo. However, this claim is not true. Kurti is participating in the 8th Summit of the European Political Community in Yerevan, while Vučić is not part of this summit. Serbia is represented by its Prime Minister. Also, the photo used is not current and belongs to an earlier meeting in 2022 during an informal dinner within the framework of the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. (here)
Fake news
A content is published with the caption that claims that the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has stated that if Vjosa Osmani wins, there will be close cooperation and investments in Kosovo, which could reach up to three billion dollars. The content with this claim was published on Sunday (May 3) on Facebook by a page named “TV Prishtina”. There is no public evidence or reporting from relevant sources confirming such a statement, which indicates that it is fabricated. (here)
An image with percentage results of political parties in Kosovo has been published, ahead of the start of the campaign for the June 7 parliamentary elections. This content was published on Monday (May 3) on Facebook, by an account called “Mrgata me LDK-në”. After verification, it turns out that this content lacks essential technical data such as source, sample, implementation period and methodology. (here)
An image posted on Facebook claims that American-Canadian journalist John Roberts has stated that George Soros and Albin Kurti were involved in a meeting in New York, where a “plan for the political elimination” of President Vjosa Osmani was allegedly discussed. After verification, it turned out that there is no public or documented statement by journalist John Roberts that supports this claim, neither in the media where he works nor on his social networks. Also, Google searches for the alleged statement and for the combination of the names mentioned have not yielded any results from reliable sources that confirm the existence of the alleged statement. (here)
A Facebook page published the claim that “The Government allocates 100 euros for pensioners”, creating the impression that it is about Kosovo. After verification, hibrid.info did not find any such decision. The article only mentions at the end that the news is related to North Macedonia, but after research conducted online it was confirmed that this is not correct. Credible reports only speak of a pension increase of around 16-17 euros, not 100 euros. (here)
Clickbait
The information portal “veriu.info” published an article on Monday (May 4) titled “A big man “jumps” inside prison cells, two people lose their lives”. The article was shared with the same title on both the portal’s website and Facebook. The title of the article is misleading because it does not indicate that the event took place in Greece, leaving room for misinterpretation as if the case took place in Kosovo. Only after clicking on the article is it learned that the event took place in a prison in northern Greece. (here)
A Facebook post titled "OFFICIAL | PDK and LDK reach coalition” presents information that does not match the content of the article. The title is general and does not specify that it is only about a coalition in Pristina, implying that it is about an agreement at the national level. The content clarifies that the coalition only relates to local government in Pristina. However, given that the country is on the verge of early parliamentary elections on June 7, this formulation has influenced some readers to interpret it as a possible coalition at the central level, which was also noted in the comments section of the post. (here)
Conspiracy theory
The Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia (OKS) reported that the house of pensioners Jordan and Slobodanka Ristic in Fushë Kosovë was broken into, claiming that the perpetrators are Albanians. It was also claimed that the case has an ethnic motive. After verifying the facts by hibrid.info, it turns out that this claim does not present any evidence or fact that proves that the perpetrators of the crime are Albanians. Meanwhile, the case does not even appear in the 24-hour report of the Kosovo Police for the date when the event was reported. (here)
Lies
A post published on Facebook claims to offer online work for a fee of 50 to 200 euros per day for performing “simple tasks”, without the need for training and with only the possession of a phone. After verification, it turned out that the page that published the post has only 20 followers, limited activity and a lack of information that would prove that it is a registered company or legitimate recruitment agency. Also, the post was distributed as a sponsored advertisement and the page is categorized as a “Bank for the consumer”, without providing clear data on the identity of the entity that claims to offer employment. (here)