Serbian language media outlet “Alo.rs” published an article yesterday (January 11) about the looting of Serb homes in the village of Lubozdë, Istog, during the Orthodox Christmas holiday. The outlet claims that this was done as part of a “campaign of intimidation and persecution of the Serbian people organized and inspired by Pristina.”
The media outlet's claim is based on a statement from the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia.
After verification of the facts conducted by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that it is still unknown who the perpetrators of this act are and for what purpose it was committed.
Link to the article published on "Alo.rs":
https://www.alo.rs/vesti/kim/854832/kuce-srba-sa-kosmeta-opljackane-na-bozic/vest
Parts of the article published on "Alo.rs":
The office demands that the thieves be identified and brought to justice as soon as possible.
– We demand that the thieves be identified and brought to justice as soon as possible, because otherwise this incident will be another confirmation that a campaign of intimidation and persecution of the Serbian people, especially returnees as the most vulnerable category, is being organized in Kosovo and Metohija and inspired by Pristina.
Link to the article published on the official website of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia:
https://www.kim.gov.rs/lat/v5424.php
Part of the press release published on the official website of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia:
It is clearly an organized action in which several people participated, and the Serbs returned to Ljubožde are outraged, not only because the injured families suffered great material damage, but also because this unprecedented and brazen attack occurred during the most joyful Christian holiday, when both Serbs and the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo and Metohija sent exclusively messages of peace and tolerance.
We demand that the thieves be identified and brought to justice as soon as possible, because otherwise this incident will be another confirmation that a campaign of intimidation and persecution of the Serbian people, especially returnees as the most vulnerable category, is being organized in Kosovo and Metohija, inspired by Pristina..
Regarding the claim made, the Serbian-language media outlet does not provide any facts about who the perpetrators are and what their purpose is.
The Office for Kosovo does not provide factual data on the perpetrators of the act and their intent, although, based solely on this looting of the homes of residents of the Serbian community, it claims that this is being done intentionally and that, according to this office, "a campaign inspired by Pristina is being organized to intimidate and persecute Serbs, especially returnees."
There have been such unfounded allegations from the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia before, which hibrid.info has addressed. (here, here, here, here)
Analyze:
Serbian-language media have published the statement of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, regarding the looting of two houses of citizens of the Serbian community.
The Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, in their reaction, referred to by the Serbian media, does not provide concrete facts about the perpetrators of the act and their intent. Therefore, the claim that this action is being carried out with the aim of intimidating and persecuting Serbs inspired by Pristina, is not based on arguable facts.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses that this article does not provide concrete facts for the claims made and is classified as a "conspiracy theory".
Reasoning:
"Conspiracy theories" are media reports that disseminate a false or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event or person, presenting it as part of or the result of a secret plan ("conspiracy"). The characteristic of these reports is that they present a series of claims, presented as facts, between which cause-effect relationships are established, without providing any reliable evidence.