Wrote: Endrit Berisha
At least two Serbian-language media outlets have misinformed through headlines about a statement by former Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras regarding Dora Bakoyannis' report on Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe. A statement by Samaras that was initially published in the Greek media outlet "tovima" (read here) the media outlets "pravda.rs" and "alo.rs" presented it in the headlines on Saturday (April 27) as the position of the Greek state.
"Greece distances itself from Bakoyannis: The report on the so-called Kosovo does not represent us or our culture" is the headline of the media outlet "Pravda", while "Alo" gave the article the title "Bakoyannis' hand is given to the flamethrowers, her words do not represent Greece".
None of the headlines indicate that this is the position of MP Samaras and not that of the Greek state.
Article links:
However, the articles indicate that this is a statement by former Prime Minister Samaras. Samaras said that Bakoyannis' report on Kosovo to the Council of Europe "does not represent Greece, nor its culture and traditions." He said that "Greece should instead be concerned with marking the 50th anniversary of the Turkish occupation of Cyprus."
Moreover, both articles do not use photos of Samaras, but “Pravda” used the Greek flag and “Alo” used the image of Bakoyannis. Most media outlets, however, attributed the statement to Samaras in the headline. (see here and here)
Context:
Dora Bakoyannis is a Greek MP who has compiled the report on Kosovo's application for membership in the Council of Europe. Her report has emphasized that Kosovo has met the conditions for membership, while also highlighting that there are some conditions pledged after membership. (Read here)
The report received support at the CoE Parliamentary Assembly in April, while the final vote is expected in May at the Committee of Ministers. Of the five Greek MPs who voted in the Assembly, four were in favour and one was against (read here). While for the Committee of Ministers, Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis warned of abstention. (see here)
Analyze:
The claim in the title that Greece has distanced itself from Dora Bakoyannis' report on Kosovo to the Council of Europe and the statement that this report does not represent this country is not accurate.
The statement is the position of former Prime Minister and current Greek MP, Antonis Samaras, and not of the state, as reported by the two Serbian-language media outlets "Pravda" and "Alo".
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content as "misinformation" 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.