TikTok account "alarm.news" has published an image showing footage from a protest, where a banner shows the portrait of former Kosovo president Hashim Thaçi, and the inscription "Whoever is against the court is against Kosovo."
In the image, next to the protesters, is also seen the deputy of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Ganimete Musliu.
What's wrong with this content?
After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the inscription on the banner shown in this photograph is manipulated.
After searching for the image and analyzing materials published online, hibrid.info found that the photo was taken from a protest held on December 24, 2022 in Kosovo, organized by the Social Democratic Party (PSD), against the conviction of Sali Mustafa by the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.
Footage from this protest has also been published by Top Channel on YouTube (see here).
By verifying the images, hibrid.info found that the banners held by the protesters in the original photo had the inscription "Not in my name".
Although the same photo has not been found in its original form, a comparison of the footage from the protest and other published photos from the same activity shows that it is the same people and the same banner. In the authentic materials, the banner is seen with the inscription "Not in my name."
Screenshot from the video material published on the Top Channel YouTube channel.
Comparison of footage from the protest, showing some of the same people and the original banners.
Thus, the authentic photograph has been digitally altered, replacing the original inscription on the banner with the text "Whoever is against the court is against Kosovo."
So, the photo published by the "alarm.news" account depicts a real protest in 2022, but the message of the banner has been altered through visual manipulation.
Analyze
The photo depicting the protest, where protesters are alleged to have held banners with the portrait of former President Hashim Thaçi and the inscription "Whoever is against the court is against Kosovo", is manipulated.
Authentic footage shows that the protesters' banner read "Not in my name."
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Fraud".
rationale
The “Deception” rating is given to informational content that is manipulated in terms of visual (deepfake, cheapfake), audio, or textual content to deceive the audience. This form of deception is usually used to produce false and manipulated content.