Fake news has dominated the Albanian-language misinformation ecosystem over the past week.
Content that has been deemed fake news has been published on social media, mainly on TikTok, regarding false claims that Kadare has made negative comments and assessments about the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti; that Naim Murseli ended his life on December 11; that Murseli was punched by two prisoners on December 16; that military equipment will be donated to Kosovo.
The misinformation published on social media and dubious portals was related to unfounded claims about working conditions in Germany and Switzerland.
Manipulation of facts related to with the decision to release from prison of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, by the former president of Yugoslavia, in 2001.
Clickbait articles were mainly related to various events, mainly published on information portals about tragic cases.
Two unverified pieces of content have been published on social media, one related to the image of the American magazine "Time"'s "Person of the Year" and the other claiming that the company Puma is ending its sponsorship agreement with the Israeli national team.
disinformation
The Facebook page named “Atdheu Lajm” published on December 9 an article titled “Germany/ Welcome bonus of €10,000 for workers in this sector”. After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has confirmed that the title of this article is incorrect, and does not correspond to the content. The news is clarified only in the content, which states that a hospital in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, has decided to offer welcome bonuses of €10,000 for each new employee. (here)
The dubious portal, named “AtdheuLajm.com” has published (December 10) an article, the title of which claims that the Swiss state is looking for workers. The title of the article also warns that this article will present the jobs that can be done without a diploma by the workers that Switzerland is looking for. But after verification by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the content of this article does not reflect the claim shown in the title. (here)
The dubious portal “atdheulajm.com” has published an article titled “Bad news for Albanians living in this European country, a difficult decision is made”. Hibrid.info has verified the facts presented in this article, confirming that the news is old and contains an incorrect title. (here)
Fake news
A TikTok account called “KosovariPress” has published a video featuring the image of Albanian writer Ismail Kadare. The image is accompanied by a caption claiming that Kadare has made negative comments and assessments about Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti. However, after research and verification by hibrid.info, no concrete sources have been found to substantiate the claim. (here)
A TikTok account called "Jongross" has published a video featuring the image of Naim Murseli, the arrested suspect suspected of planning to take the life of Liridona Ademaj Murseli. The video claims that Mursel ended his life on December 11th. But after research and verification by hibrid.info, no concrete sources have been found that confirm the claim. (here)
The TikTok account “mtrks25” has published a video showing military equipment. The caption of the video claims that tanks and drones will be donated to Kosovo, without specifying which country the donation will come from. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, this claim has been proven to be false. (here)
The TikTok account named "mtrks25" has published a video showing military equipment that is claimed to be donated to Kosovo. However, hibrid.info has not found any sources that confirm the claim published by the account in question. (here)
The Facebook page called "Atdheu Lajm" has published an article titled "Fantastic News: Albanian Doctor Cures Diabetes in One Day". This article claims that Kosovar surgeon Arbër Morina has stated that he cures diabetes in one day. After research conducted by hibrid.info on Morina's personal Facebook account, it was found that he has denied this article, which he has described as false and that it was not written by him. (here)
The social media account Tiktok named “Jongross” has published a video material, in which the image of Naim Murseli, the arrested suspect for planning to take the life of Liridona Ademaj Murseli, appears. The video material contains the caption by which it is claimed that Murseli was punched by two prisoners on December 16. However, after research and verification carried out by hibrid.info through online search engines, no concrete sources have been found that confirm the claim of the aforementioned account. (here)
A TikTok account called “mtrks25” has published a video showing a military aircraft. The caption of the video claims that the footage shows missiles from Turkey that were donated to Kosovo. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was determined that the claim is false and that the footage shows a Brazilian military aircraft. (here)
Manipulation of facts
The information medium "KosovaLive.net" has published a video material, part of the show of the director of the Institute for the Affirmation of Interethnic Relations, Fatmir Sheholli. The author of this show has published the decision to release Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti from prison by the former president of Yugoslavia in 2001. Sheholli, from the 45th second, claims that this decision is being published for the first time in public opinion, on his show. (here)
Clickbait
Several online media outlets have published an article titled “Genc Nuza to referee Dortmund-PSG match”. After verifying the facts, it is understood that these portals have placed an inadequate title on this article, which does not clarify the content. The content states that the referee from Kosovo will referee the match of the under-19 age group (U19), which takes place between Borussia Dortmund U19 and Paris Saint-Germain U19. While the title implies that the referee from Kosovo, Genc Nuza, will referee the match of the first teams of these two teams within the framework of the Champions League. (here)
The information portal with content in the Albanian language “Kosova-sot.info”, has published an article titled “Police seize 11 tons of cocaine”. After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has confirmed that the title of this article is general, as it does not clarify which country’s police are in question. The news is clarified in the content, which states that “Spanish police seized 11 tons of cocaine and arrested 20 people, including Albanian citizens, who belong to two criminal drug trafficking organizations”. (here)
The news outlet “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article titled “Sad: Stray dogs brutally attack a girl”. Hibrid.info has verified the facts and has confirmed that the title of this article is general, as it does not clarify in which country the event took place. The news is clarified only in the content, more precisely in the headline of the article, which states that “This is the moment when a pack of stray dogs attack and injure a 9-year-old girl in a city in Russia,”. (here)
Unverified content
The Facebook page named “TopLajm” has published a post with the caption “Puma ends sponsorship agreement with the Israeli national team. This is one of the results of pressure on social networks”. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the decision of the Puma company to terminate the contract for the sponsorship of the Israeli national football team’s jerseys was made before the Hamas attack on October 7. Therefore, the termination of Puma’s contract was not due to the social media outrage, as the aforementioned page claims. (here)
A Facebook page named “Idealisti-al” has published a photo claiming to be the cover of the “person of the year” of the American magazine “Time”. The photo shows the image of a Palestinian man as the person of the year of the magazine in question. However, after fact-checking by Hibrid.info, it has been proven that this claim is not correct. (here)
Checking and evaluating statements
The Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli, had stated that the salaries of Trepça miners, based on the agreement reached between the miners' union and several MPs, would be paid from the 6th to the 10th of each month. However, after verification and research by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that despite the minister's statement, the salaries for October were not paid until November 27. (here)