Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A piece of content has been published with the caption that claims that the name of publicist Blerim Shala is being discussed in international circles and in several parliamentary parties in Kosovo as a consensual candidate for president of Kosovo.
This claim is presented through a posting published on Sunday (March 29) on Facebook, by a page called “ABC News Kosova”. It contains an image with the caption "EXCLUSIVE Blerim Shala candidate for consensual president".
What's wrong with the content?
The caption on the image presents the issue of Shala's name as a presidential candidate as a done deal. Meanwhile, in the article accompanying the image, for this claim, the publisher is based on anonymous sources. However, the author of this publication is not a credible source of information, therefore the claim from this content cannot be assessed as credible.
Post caption:
"EXCLUSIVE: Blerim Shala towards consensual candidacy for President of Kosovo"
Well-informed diplomatic and political sources report that the name of Blerim Shala as a consensual candidate for President of Kosovo is being seriously discussed in international circles and in some parliamentary parties in Kosovo.
According to these sources, Shala is considered a figure who can be accepted by a wide political spectrum, due to his many years of experience in the political and state-forming processes of Kosovo. He has been involved in key political developments before and after the war, and is known as a good connoisseur of international politics and regional relations.
In political circles, it is estimated that his profile is characterized by political culture, personal integrity and institutional preparation, elements that are considered important for a figure who would represent the unity of the state. If these developments take concrete form, the name of Blerim Shala could become one of the main options for a consensual president of the Republic of Kosovo.”
As of the time of writing, this post has over 270 likes and over 100 comments. From the content of the comments, it is noticeable that users have expressed their opinions on whether Shala is or is not suitable for the position of president. This shows that the publication has stimulated discussion and reactions from users.
International practices and the law in Kosovo allow the use of anonymous sources by journalists and media professionals, in cases where the information is critical, reliable and impossible to obtain otherwise (see here). For this reason, hibrid.info has checked the reliability of this site.
The page that published the content has over 30 followers. According to the description on its Facebook profile, “ABC News Kosova” presents itself as an informative page that offers news, analysis and coverage of key topics from Kosovo, the region and the world (see here).
Apart from an email address, no other information, such as location or physical address, is displayed on the profile.
Hibrid.info checked the website of the Kosovo Press Council (KPC) as a self-regulatory body formed for and by the print media sector. This site does not appear among the members of this body (see here).
For more, hibrid.info has previously covered the content of this page (see here, here and here).
Because research on this site showed that it cannot be considered a credible source of information, hibrid.info has researched using "Google", the search engine, with the words "buying saddle candidate", defining the last 30 days as the period of display of search results (see here).
The search revealed an article dated February 28, published by the media outlet “Nacionale.com”, which reported Shala’s response to the allegations about his candidacy for president. Based on this article, it is clear that Shala had denied these reports, saying that he is not a candidate for president (see here).
Content of the "Nacionale.com" article:
"In the search for a consensual candidate for president, the name of publicist and journalist Blerim Shala has also been mentioned.
However, he has refused to do so.
In a statement to the Nacional newspaper, he said that he is not a candidate for president.
"No, you got it. No, absolutely not. Someone might mention it, but I'm not," Shala said.
A little context
At the March 5 session of the Kosovo Assembly, the Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV) presented two candidates for president: Glauk Konjufca and Fatmire Kollçaku-Mullhaxha, after preliminary talks between Prime Minister Albin Kurti and the two main opposition parties, the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), for an acceptable name were unsuccessful.
The session was adjourned due to lack of quorum, following the absence of opposition parties. One day after the session was adjourned, namely on March 6, President Vjosa Osmani issued a decree dissolving the Assembly and immediately held a meeting with political parties to discuss the date of early elections.
The meeting was attended by leaders of opposition parties. However, the ruling party insisted that Osman's decree had no basis, claiming that the procedures for electing the president had begun on March 5 and that there was a 60-day deadline to complete the process, which is why it appealed to the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Court, on Wednesday (March 25), gave the Kosovo Assembly more than a month to elect a new president, after it assessed that the decree of the current president, Vjosa Osmani, to dissolve the Assembly, following the failure to elect a president in the March 5 session, has no legal basis (see here).
Prime Minister Kurti announced today (March 30) that he will invite opposition party leaders to meetings in an effort to secure the necessary votes to elect the country's new president. The LVV leader did not mention names of potential candidates (see here). This shows that there is no “consensual” name, at least until the moment of content handling.
To be nominated as a presidential candidate, at least 30 signatures must be obtained from members of the Assembly. Members of the Assembly are entitled to sign for only one candidacy (see Article 86 of the Constitution of Kosovo).
Hibrid.info has warned about the possibility of publishing misinformation related to the issue of the presidential election (see here).
Analyze:
The posting of the “ABC News Kosova” page on Facebook with the image that reads “EXCLUSIVE Blerim Shala candidate for consensual president”, presents this claim as a fait accompli. While the content accompanying the image is based on the page's sources.
But the claim based on anonymous sources – from a website that is not credible – does not provide concrete evidence or confirmation from official and credible sources that would support this claim.
So far, there are no verified reports confirming that Blerim Shala is being considered as a consensual candidate for president, while he himself has previously denied such a thing.
Therefore, based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this claim as "Disinformation".
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.