"In The Hague, the entire KLA is being tried. Anyone who thinks differently is swallowing, consciously or unconsciously, Serbian propaganda. Thaçi was the engine of the KLA."
This is what Stjepan Mesic, the former Croatian president, is alleged to have said, according to an image published on Monday (September 28) on TikTok.
What's wrong with the content?
The submitted statement is fabricated.
The content in question has received over 29 thousand views and, based on the content of the comments on the post, it is estimated that the audience is likely to perceive the claim as credible.
Initially, through "Google Lens", the origin of the image used on TikTok was researched to verify whether the photo of Stjepan Mesić belongs to an old interview taken out of context or whether it is a edited image.
The results showed that the claim for this statement has been published since February of this year (see here). The same alleged statement was also published on one of the media outlets' Facebook pages (see here).
A characteristic of the publications is that none of them specify where former President Mesić made the alleged statement.
A search was then conducted for the former Croatian president's official account or page. A search on Google and Facebook did not reveal any official Mesić profiles that could be checked to verify this statement (see here and here).
The investigation continued by directly searching for the alleged statement, in both Albanian and Croatian (see here and here). However, the search results did not turn up any articles from credible sources that would confirm the alleged statement.
Hibrid.info also checked for credible content in Albanian, where Mesić's public statements were reported, regarding the trial of former KLA leaders in The Hague. The articles found showed that in his public statements he expressed his belief in the innocence of the accused and clearly emphasized the just war of the KLA (see here, here, here and here).
However, no evidence or reliable source has been found that he made the specific statement that the entire KLA is being tried in The Hague or that Thaçi was its driving force.
Analyze
The claim that former Croatian President Stjepan Mesić has stated that the entire KLA is being tried in The Hague and that Hashim Thaçi was its "engine" is fabricated.
During a search on Google and Facebook, no official or verified profile of the former Croatian president was found that could corroborate such a statement.
Likewise, direct searches for the phrase in Albanian and Croatian did not produce any results from credible sources or media.
Although in past statements reported in the media, Mesić has expressed confidence in the innocence of the accused and supported the KLA's struggle, there is no evidence that he has made a statement with this specific content.
Therefore, based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Fake News".
rationale
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.