Prepared by: Festim Rizanaj
Deceptive content is what has dominated over the past week in terms of misinformation published in the media, dubious portals, and social media pages and accounts.
Three scams have recently been published on the Facebook platform, with different themes. The first is a sponsored post by the page “Next Step Careers” on October 10, which claimed to be looking for cleaners for employment, but basic data and contact information were missing from the business, making it a scam. The second scam, published on September 14 by the page “DOC-shop”, claimed to offer instructions for reimbursement for water, electricity and gas. Hibrid.info revealed that only the reimbursement for electricity was legitimate and offered by Kosovo institutions for vulnerable families. The third scam was published on October 11 by the page “Kredi personale”, which claimed to offer loans of up to €15,000 with approval within 10 minutes, using the image of a licensed bank in Kosovo, unrelated to the alleged offer.
Several fake news stories have been published on TikTok. On October 13, the account “politik.shqip” shared a fake poll about political parties in Kosovo, claiming that it was conducted by the American company “Cygal”, which does not exist. Similarly, the account “pograddeccii” shared a false claim that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said that northern Kosovo should belong to Serbia. After verification by hibrid.info, no such statement was found and it was found that the posted photo was from Erdogan’s meeting with Vučić on October 11.
The claim that Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic spoke about greeting Granit Xhaka after the Nations League match was deemed unverified content. This claim was picked up by Serbian media outlet “kurir.rs” and reported by Albanian media outlets citing “Serbian media.” Hibrid.info verified that Stojkovic had commented on the meeting with Switzerland coach Murat Yakin, and not Granit Xhaka.
Two erroneous reports were published in the media: An article by the medium “kosova-sot.com” was published on October 15 with the title “The population of Montenegro is made up of 9.97% Albanians”, which was proven incorrect by Hibrid.info, which revealed that Albanians make up 4.97% of the population according to the 2023 census by Monstat. Also, some media reported that a closed parallel structure facility was located in the municipality of Skenderaj, but the Kosovo Police clarified that the facility was in the territory of North Mitrovica and served as part of the illegal structures for Skenderaj, thus confusing the place with the name of the municipality.
The claim published on TikTok that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti had dinner with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and that there were Serbian products on the table was considered manipulation/disinformation. Hibrid.info confirmed that the photo was manipulated; in its original, EU envoy Miroslav Lajčak also appeared, and there was no evidence of the presence of Serbian products.
Fake news
A poll was published in the form of a post about some of the political entities in Kosovo, claiming that it was conducted by the American company Cygal. The post was published on October 13 on TikTok by the account “politik.shqip”. In this poll, the Vetëvendosje Movement is represented with 37%, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (34%), the Democratic League of Kosovo (24%) and the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo – NISMA (4%). After research conducted online by hibrid.info, this poll has not been found published by any credible source. Also, there is no American company named “Cygal” that deals with polls. (here)
It was claimed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that northern Kosovo should belong to Serbia. This claim was published in the form of a post on TikTok by the account “pograddeccii”. The caption of this post states that Erdogan made this statement for the Serbian television B92. After research conducted by hibrid.info, no statement was found by the Turkish president regarding the issue of northern Kosovo, during his one-day visit to Serbia on October 11. The photo in this post was also taken from the October 11 meeting between the Turkish and Serbian presidents, Aleksandar Vučić. (here)
Unverified content
Several Albanian-language media outlets have claimed that Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic spoke about greeting Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka after Saturday’s Nations League football match. The claim was initially found on Serbian-language outlet “kurir.rs”. Albanian-language outlets have cited “Serbian media” when reporting on Stojkovic’s statement. After verifying the press conference and other statements after the match, Hibrid.info has found that Stojkovic’s statement was about his meeting with Switzerland coach Murat Yakin, and not about the midfielder of Kosovo origin. (here)
Lies
A content has been published claiming that a cleaner is wanted for employment. The claim was shared on October 10, through a sponsored post on Facebook, by a page called “Next Step Careers”. Hibrid.info has found that basic information is missing and it is not clear how to contact the business that has posted the alleged advertisement. (here)
A content has been published with the caption, claiming to offer instructions to check if you are on the list for reimbursement for water, electricity or gas. This claim was published through an image link, (September 14) as sponsored by a page called “DOC-shop”, on Facebook. Hibrid.info has found that the only option for reimbursement is for electricity, offered by Kosovo institutions, for vulnerable families. (here)
A content is published that claims to offer fast credit with approval within just 10 minutes up to €15,000. This claim was published through an image, on October 11 on Facebook by a page named “Personal Loan”. The findings show that this page has used the image of a licensed bank in Kosovo, presenting it as an opportunity offered by this page. (here)
error
A content titled “The population of Montenegro is made up of 9.97% Albanians” has been published. The article was published by “kosova-sot.com”, a medium with content in the Albanian language, yesterday, October 15. Hibrid.info has found that the percentage of the Albanian population in Montenegro is incorrectly presented in the title of this text. In the written statement from the 2023 population census, published by Monstat, the Statistical Office of Montenegro, it is shown that Albanians make up 4,97% of the population of Montenegro. (here)
Some media outlets have reported that the facility of the parallel structure that was closed on Wednesday was located in the municipality of Skenderaj. The closed facility was not in the territory of the municipality of Skenderaj. In fact, according to the Kosovo Police, the facility in question was in the territory covered by the North Mitrovica Regional Directorate, but served as part of the illegal structures responsible for the municipality of Skenderaj. So the publishers have confused the location with the name of the closed parallel municipality. (here)
Manipulation of facts/Disinformation
Through a photo, it is claimed that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti had dinner with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and that there were Serbian products on the table. This claim was published on October 16 in the form of a post on TikTok by the account “tavnikcitypdk”. This post shows a photo depicting Kurti and Vučić. After a fact-check conducted by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that this photo has been tampered with, as in the original one, the European Union (EU) Special Envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue, Miroslav Lajčak, was also at the table. Also, there is no fact that there were Serbian products on the table, as claimed by the aforementioned account. (here)