Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
The title of a piece of content claims that "The Ibri Bridge is Opening", while the cover of the video material contains the inscription "BE ON THE SIDE OF KOSOVO".
The claim was made in a video published on August 7 on the NTV television channel on YouTube.
What is the truth?
Hibrid.info has found that the claim that the Ibar Bridge has been opened is not accurate. Also, the European Union (EU) has not come out on Kosovo's side regarding the issue of opening this bridge, as claimed by the aforementioned channel.
Link to the video material published on Youtube by the NTV Television channel:
Cover attached to this video:
What does this video contain?
The content of this video material includes a statement by the Minister of Interior in Kosovo, Xhelal Sveçla, who is quoted as saying: "The bridge will open, there is no reason why it should not open. Now, when it will open is a matter of expert assessment."
What did the international factor say?
The United States (US) Ambassador to Pristina, Jeffrey Hovenier, said on Friday (August 2nd) that QUINT countries and NATO do not support the opening of the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica at this time.
"Representatives of France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain, the United States, together with the EU ambassador to Kosovo, met today with Prime Minister Kurti to inform him that our governments, in consultation with NATO, cannot support any change in the current status of the Mitrovica bridge at this time," Hovenier told reporters after the meeting, reported Radio Free Europe.
Meanwhile, Kosovo's Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, has stated that the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica should be opened, adding that it is in the service of everyone, and is not against anyone. (see here)
Analyze:
The claims that "the Ibar Bridge is open" and "the EU is on Kosovo's side" are false.
Hibrid.info, after verifying the facts, has confirmed that the claim made through the title of this content is not found within the video.
As for the claim that the EU is on Kosovo's side regarding the initiative to open the Ibar Bridge, it has been proven to be incorrect. The international factor does not support the opening of the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica at this time.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Disinformation" and "Clickbait".
Reasoning:
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.
“Clickbait” is considered to be informational content whose title is general and does not disclose the location of the event, context and relevance. Such texts and articles aim to attract the attention of the audience with sensational headlines with misleading consequences, which do not accurately clarify the content of the article. “Clickbait” headlines are mainly made to attract readability in the case of media publications and/or to earn from clicks in the case of commercial publications.