Prepared by: Festim Rizanaj
As a result of the findings and treatments of misinformation published last week, fake news is what dominated the misinformation ecosphere.
Fake news has been published on social media, Facebook and Tiktok. Claims were published on Facebook that French President Emmanuel Macron said that French KFOR troops could withdraw if Kosovo insists on opening the Ibar Bridge; a photograph that he claimed showed a view of Faton Hajrizi's room in Smrekonica prison; that KFOR Commander Ozkan Ulutas stated that the Ibar Bridge is in Kosovo and that it should be opened without asking anyone; that the KSF will be equipped with Turkish T-Firtina tanks at the end of September. Claims were published on Tiktok that Turkey has donated four drones to Kosovo; that Turkey supports Prime Minister Kurti for opening the Ibar Bridge.
Conspiracy theories were published in Serbian-language media and Albanian-language Facebook pages. In Serbian-language media, it was claimed that the burning of three Serb houses in the village of Novak, Prizren, on Sunday evening was done by Albanians; that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was the organizer of Monday's Albanian protest in Bujanovac. On Facebook, it was claimed that three Bayraktar drones and the Kizilelma unmanned aerial vehicle would be added to the Kosovo Security Force (KSF).
Disinformation has been published in the media in Serbian and Albanian. Disinformation has been published in the Serbian media that Kurti with the Americans and Albanians are practicing for a drone attack before the aim of opening the bridge on the Ibar by force! "; that the 45 civilians killed in the Reçak massacre were KLA soldiers. In the Albanian media, through a headline it has been claimed that the Bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica has remained empty and that the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, has left it.
A sponsored link on Facebook, in the form of an image, whose caption claims that a job vacancy has been opened, seeking "pharmaceutical packaging personnel," was deemed a scam.
Clickbait/scam, a misleading headline in the media that could imply that the Democratic Party candidate for US president, Kamala Harris, has spoken about Kosovo, was deemed.
Clickbat was credited with a headline claiming that "First case of monkeypox reported," without disclosing the location of the event.
Conspiracy theory
It has been reported that “Albanians” and “Kurti’s phalanx” set fire to three Serb houses in the village of Novak, Prizren, on Sunday evening. The Serbian-language media outlets “sd.rs” and “alo.rs” have falsely linked “Albanians” and “Kurti’s phalanx” to the burning of three Serb houses in the village of Novak, Prizren, on Sunday. While the headlines reported that “Albanians” and “Kurti’s phalanx” set fire to the houses, this is not mentioned in the text. The text even quotes a citizen who said that the cause of the fire is unknown. Kosovo Police have announced that according to initial reports, the fire started in the bushes a little further away from the houses, but that the fire spread quickly. Investigations have begun and currently there are no suspects. (here)
“Politika.rs”, citing an article in the Serbian-language newspaper “Vecernje Novosti”, has claimed without any facts that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti was the organizer of Monday’s Albanian protest in Bujanovac. After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has found that this protest was organized by the Albanian National Council (NKSH) in Bujanovac. Furthermore, based on research that hibrid.info has conducted, Prime Minister Kurti has never made a statement regarding the protest in question. (here)
Through several posts on Facebook, it was claimed that three Bayraktar drones and the Kizilelma unmanned aerial vehicle will be added to the Kosovo Security Force (KSF). These posts were published on Facebook (August 12, 13) by the pages “DARDANIA ARMY” and “Dardania Today”. After conducting online research, hibrid.info has not found any information published in credible sources, which claims to supply the KSF with this type of equipment. (here)
Fake news
It is alleged that French President Emmanuel Macron has said that French KFOR troops may withdraw if Kosovo insists on opening the Ibar Bridge. Hibrid.info, after conducting research, has confirmed that this claim is false. Such a statement was not made by President Macron. Also, in a Facebook post by the page “MeKryeministrin”, it was claimed that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan allegedly reacted to this statement by Macron. Hibrid.info has confirmed that the Turkish Foreign Ministry has not come up with any reaction regarding Kosovo’s insistence on opening the Ibar Bridge. (here)
Through a TikTok post published (August 12), it was claimed that Turkey has donated four drones to Kosovo. After research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info has not found any information published by credible sources that proves the same. Also, the photo showing Kurti with Erdogan is old, taken in February 2023. (here)
The Facebook page "Lajme Nga Bota" published a photo on Monday, claiming it was a view of Faton Hajrizi's room in Smrekonica prison. After verification by hibrid.info, it turns out that the photo is old and was taken in the former Alcatraz prison in the USA. (here)
Through a TikTok post published (August 12), it was claimed that Turkey supports Prime Minister Kurti for the opening of the Ibar Bridge. After research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info has not found any information published by credible sources that proves the same. Also, neither on the official website of the Turkish presidency, in the announcements section, nor on that of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, is there any information published regarding the position of the Turkish state on the opening of the Ibar Bridge. (here)
It was alleged that KFOR Commander Ozkan Ulutas stated that the Ibar Bridge is in Kosovo and that it should be opened without asking anyone. This post was published (August 14) on Facebook by pages such as, “Me Albin Kurti”, “Informohu24” and “Atdheu Lajm”. After research conducted by hibrid.info, such a statement by Ulutas was not found published in any credible source. KFOR, through a press release issued on August 13, regarding this issue, stated that any decision regarding the bridge over the Ibar River should be made through political dialogue and in a coordinated manner. (here)
It is claimed that Turkish T-Firtina tanks will be added to the Kosovo Security Force at the end of September. The claim that the KSF will be equipped with Turkish T-Firtina tanks at the end of September is false. This equipment is expected to be supplied to countries such as Qatar and Ukraine, while there is no published information that proves that Kosovo will also be supplied with T-Firtina tanks. (here)
disinformation
The Serbian-language media outlet “Informer.rs” published an article (August 12) titled “Confirmed! The worst is being prepared! Kurti with Americans and Albanians are practicing for a drone attack before the aim of opening the bridge on the Ibar by force!” This media outlet claims that Prime Minister Albin Kurti, “is apparently preparing a new attack on Serbs in Kosovo”. The article refers to the field exercise “Valor Shield 2024” of the Kosovo Security Forces (KSF) and the Special Forces of the Albanian Armed Forces under the supervision of the US Special Operations Command for Europe. The media outlet in question does not provide any facts that this exercise is related to any attack on Kosovo Serbs. (here)
A Serbian propaganda film about the Reçak Massacre, produced in 2022, has claimed that 45 civilians killed in the massacre were KLA soldiers. The Serbian-language media outlet Novosti.rs published an article on Monday evening (August 12) titled ““REÇAK” WAS THE BIG SCAM: See photos of “civilians” in KLA terrorist uniforms,” based on propaganda data from the film. Despite reports from credible international organizations that have verified the bodies, the Serbian state has consistently denied this crime. (here)
A headline claimed that the Bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica has been left empty and that the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, has left it. The publication was made by the Albanian-language media outlet “ntv.al” on August 17. After verifying the facts, it turns out that the headline “KFOR is gone, the bridge remains empty/ NATO’s latest move over the Ibar” is unfounded. The headline is not based on the content of the article itself, nor on the latest developments surrounding the bridge, nor on the official positions of KFOR and Kosovo institutions. (here)
Lies
A sponsored link has been published, in the form of an image, the caption of which claims that a job vacancy has been opened, requiring “pharmaceutical packaging personnel”. This content was published on August 9 on Facebook by the page named “Local serse.com”. However, the link presented, after clicking, does not provide the necessary information to apply for the alleged vacancy. (here)
Clickbait/Scam
The Albanian-language media outlet “ntv.al” has used a misleading headline that could imply that the Democratic Party candidate for president of the United States, Kamala Harris, has spoken about Kosovo. But the article is about an opinion piece by Janusz Bugajski. This media outlet, on its Facebook page, has used a manipulated image of Harris with Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti. (here)
Clickbait
A headline claims that “First case of monkeypox recorded”. The article was published on Thursday (August 15) by the Albanian-language portal “kosova-sot.info”. The headline does not indicate that it is about Sweden. The location of the event is only disclosed in the content of the article. The introduction of the article states that “Sweden has recorded the first case of the new infectious variant of mpox, or monkeypox”. (here)