This week was characterized by articles that refuted claims made by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government regarding recent developments in Kosovo. There were also fraudulent articles about the sale of apartments and cars. Clickbait articles reporting that something is supposedly happening in the north took root in dubious media outlets over the past week.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić claims that the Kosovo Police do not have the right to expand their activities in northern Kosovo without, as he says, the permission of the mayors of Serb-majority municipalities in that area. In addition to him, the head of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Petar Petković, also made the same claim.
Hibrid.info has consulted official documents relevant to this issue, and has found that the claims of the Serbian leader and another senior official are incorrect.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, during his address on August 21 after meeting with some of the Serbian political representatives in Kosovo, stated that on July 31, a group of Chechens and Circassians – opponents of the Chechen leader – Ramazan Kadyrov – had stayed in Kosovo. According to him, citing information from the Serbian secret service, the task of these groups was to eliminate armed Serbs in northern Kosovo and recruit potential soldiers to fight in Ukraine. Vučić’s claim was widely reported in the Serbian media, mainly those close to the government.
The names mentioned by Vučić, who, according to him, were connected to the Chechen and Circassian groups in the north, denied them, stating that they do not know what they are talking about and that this is a provocation by Serbia. Likewise, the chief of staff of the Kosovo presidency, Blerim Vela, denied the fact, stating that no citizen of Kosovo has joined the war in Ukraine, and no Chechen or Circassian has conspired to kill Serbs in Kosovo.
The Serbian daily "Novosti" published an article on its website "Novosti.rs" on August 24 in which it claims that KFOR members are participating in joint exercises with the Kosovo Security Forces at the Belvedere camp in southern Mitrovica. The claims of the Serbian daily "Novosti" were also confirmed at the press conference of Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, following the meeting of the heads of Serbian municipalities.
After these claims were discussed by the aforementioned parties, KFOR denied them in a response given to the Serbian news agency "Tanjug.rs".
Hibrid.info, based on its work methodology, assesses that the claims of the Serbian daily "Novosti" are unfounded and are classified as "fake news".
The Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, through a notice published on August 24 on their official website, has published a statement, through which it is claimed without evidence that the KLA inscription written on the nameplate in the village of Batushë near Graçanica is an organized threat against the Serbs remaining south of the Ibar.
Based only on the photograph showing the KLA inscription, without providing further details such as "when and by whom was it made?", this office has created an unfounded interpretation that this is being done in an organized manner to threaten Serbs with expulsion from their homes.
Hibrid.info has verified the facts in this article, and based on its work methodology, has assessed it as a "biased interpretation".
The Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia published a reaction on its official website on August 27 regarding the beating of a woman in northern Mitrovica. The institution interprets the beating of this woman of Serbian nationality as a result of the violence, as it is said, that Pristina has created in recent weeks.
The incident that occurred, as reported by the Kosovo Police, occurred for predatory purposes and not influenced by the violent rhetoric of official Pristina, as the Office for Kosovo claims. Hibrid.info, based on its work methodology, evaluates the interpretations of the Office for Kosovo as "manipulation of facts".
During the past week, two more fraudulent articles have been published regarding the sale of apartments and cars.
The dubious portal "web3.lajme.icu" has published a fake article about the sale of a Golf 5 car, claiming that a person is urgently selling it for only 2800 euros.
Hibrid.info, after conducting research, has managed to prove that this advertisement is false. Through the InVID program, it was found that this photograph was posted in 2008 on the “Wikimedia Commons” website.
Recently, fake advertisements for the sale of apartments at unrealistic prices have been published on dubious portals with content in the Albanian language. These articles, which are intended only to get clicks, do not provide any information regarding the sale of these apartments.
One such case occurred on August 25 and 26 on the dubious portals "web3lajme.icu" and "onlinenews54.com", which published the article titled "URGENT! Super 4+1 apartment for sale, only for 49,990 euros...".
After researching online search engines, hibrid.info has managed to confirm that the photo and the content do not match each other. So, it is not about the apartment reflected in the article.
Last week was also characterized by several clickbait articles that were linked to the north, to encourage clicks.
The dubious portal "On27.net" has published an article with an inappropriate title and photo, claiming that something serious is happening in northern Kosovo.
After fact-checking analysis based on the working methodology, hibrid.info assesses this article as "Clickbait".
The dubious portal “on27.net” published on August 27 an announcement by KFOR, which was joined by EULEX in northern Kosovo, to enable a rapid response in the event of a possible escalation of the situation. However, this article was given a tendentious title with the claim that something is happening in the north, and that EULEX is urgently leaving there.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info evaluates this article as "Clickbait".
Doubtful portals have published an article with the false claim that Kosovo's population will decrease by 50% this decade. The content contains the UN report for 2022 "World Population Outlook", which states that several countries, including Kosovo, are expected to lose 40 to 50% of their population by the end of the century.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this article as "Disinformation".