The Russian state news agency "Sputnik" published an article on January 2, with the headline falsely claiming that "Official Tirana is pushing its own man into the Kosovo Government," alluding to Albania's former acting Foreign Minister, Gent Cakaj.
The title of this article is not based on any institutional source in Albania, but only on some statements of two analysts, Demo Berisha, director of the “Amëza e Shqiptarëve” association in Novi Sad, and Serbian political scientist Dragan Džukanović. So, what is claimed in the Serbian version of this Russian news agency is not based on any relevant official or institution from Tirana, but only on the assumptions of the analysts.
Parts of the article published in Sputnik, translated into Albanian:
"Albania's Prime Minister, Edi Rama, is "returning" Gent Cakaj to Kosovo, who served as acting Foreign Minister in the Albanian Government, and as announced by the former party of Hashim Thaçi and Kadri Veseli, he is very likely to join their party in the early elections in Kosovo."
Link to the article published on Sputnik:
The way to “involve Cakaj” in the future Government of Kosovo, according to this article, will be by making him a member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), which will then enter the governing coalition. This claim is based solely on the analysis of Demo Berisha, who said that:
"He believes that Cakaj and Edi Rama are close to the PDK. Cakaj is the one who should be the bridge between Kosovo and Albania in foreign policy, Rama's man within the future Kosovo Government. Kosovo's foreign policy is the weakest link and it would be logical for them to choose Cakaj."
Speculations about Cakaj's transition to PDK, which have also been made in some Kosovo media, have been denied by him in a statement to "indeksonline.net".
"As I have said, my decision in the Government of Albania is irrevocable. Speculations that I will join any political party in Kosovo are not true. That's all we can say at the moment," Cakaj said.
Link to Gent Cakaj's reaction on indeksonline:
Analyze:
The Sputnik Serbian section, based on the fact-checked analysis of hibrid.info, results in spreading disinformation by publishing the article in question. This article claims without facts that Gent Cakaj will be part of the future Government of Kosovo, as a member of the PDK. Sputnik bases this entire claim only on the opinions of some analysts, but not from the official circles mentioned. Moreover, in this article Cakaj is called a man of Prime Minister Edi Rama in the future Government of Kosovo, but without basing it on any facts.
For this reason, based on the methodology of hibrid.info, this Sputnik article in Serbian is categorized as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
A “Disinformation” rating is given to media reporting that contains a “mix” of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful content. This rating will also address reports that have incorrect attributions or headlines that do not reflect the text in terms of information accuracy.