Last week was characterized by the dominance of unverified content and disinformation in the misinformation ecosphere in Albanian-language content.
Unverified content, which contains photographs, videos and materials claiming to be related to the Hamas-Israel conflict, has been published by various social media sites.
Disinformation photos and videos published on social media related to the Hamas-Israel conflict, while Serbian media misinformed that Hamas had purchased weapons from the KLA.
Fake news on social media claiming that the KSF is armed with tanks, a photo with a fabricated image of a Palestinian flag, unfurled in the stands of a stadium.
Deceptive content on TikTok with a video showing the moment of the unveiling of a painting with the portrait of Adem Jashari.
Clickbait media articles about a death that did not occur in Kosovo and the location of the event is not disclosed in the headline, as well as about a statement by Egzon Azemi, an LVV official, on police payments.
Unkept promise by MP Enver Dugolli, regarding the execution of dangerousness allowances for police officers, regarding the method of treatment and the promise that this issue will be resolved in two-three days.
Unverified content
Several Albanian-language news portals published an article on October 8 titled “'Send Turkish soldiers to Gaza', protests in Istanbul in support of Palestinians”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the video footage showing protesters in Turkey chanting “send our soldiers to Gaza” is old, made in May 2021. (here)
The Facebook page “The Road to Islam” has published a short video showing several people praying as a bomb falls near their home. The page claims that the footage is current and shows the bombings during the ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the video was made in 2021. (here)
The Facebook page named “Gazeta Selam” published on October 10 an image showing a child with a doll in his hand, sitting in the ruins of a destroyed building. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that this photo is old. Knowing that this page, which in recent days has published materials regarding the current conflict between Hamas and Israel, has also tried to present this image as current. (here)
The Facebook page called “The Path to Islam” has published a video material in which numerous ruins of destroyed buildings are shown. Based on the publications of this page and the comments on this publication, it is understood that the video material shows images of the destruction of the conflict in Gaza. However, after verification by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the video material is old and shows images from Turkey, after the earthquake at the beginning of this year. (here)
A Facebook page has published an old video (September 2023) showing footage of a military parade in Yemen. Based on the activity of the page, the video has been attempted to be presented as current, with the claim that it is related to the current situation in Gaza. (here)
The Facebook account named “Al Khattab” has published a video showing moments of a rocket launch. This account claims through the caption that the footage shows the launch of the rocket, which is aimed at Israel. But after researching the facts by hibrid.info, it was realized that the video is old and, in fact, has nothing to do with the conflict between Israel and Hamas. (here)
disinformation
Several Albanian-language news portals have published an article claiming that the European football governing body “UEFA” has selected two Albanian footballers in the best line-up in the qualifiers for the European Championship “EURO 2024”. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that UEFA has not selected the best line-up in these qualifiers, but that this selection was made by a specialized platform for real-time sports results “SofaScore.com”. (here)
The Facebook page “The Reis” published a video from 2021 on October 15, claiming that the footage shows Egyptian aid vehicles waiting at the Rafah border to go to Gaza. So, the aforementioned page has tried to present this old video as current, linking it to the current conflict between Hamas and Israel. (here)
Serbian language media outlet Alo.rs has published an article claiming that “A large portion of illegal weapons from Kosovo that were in the hands of the KLA ended up with Hamas!” The newspaper in question, referring to a statement by former US Colonel Douglas Macgregor made during an analysis of the Hamas-Israel conflict, claims that the KLA is arming the Palestinian group Hamas. Macgregor claims that “some of these weapons actually found their way from the illegal Kosovo market to Ukraine and Gaza.” Macgregor’s claim is not based on facts but on, as he himself calls it, unconfirmed information. At the same time, he does not mention the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) or any other organization in connection with the claim in his statement. (here)
Several Facebook pages published a short video on October 14 and 15, claiming that the footage shows citizens from Egypt crossing the border to send aid to citizens in Gaza. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the video is old and has nothing to do with the sending of aid by citizens of Egypt to Gaza. (here)
The Facebook page “The Reis” has published a video claiming that the footage shows another rocket fired by the “Izzettin Qassam Brigades” that passed over the Iron Dome and fell in Tel Aviv. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the video is from 2021 and does not depict the current conflict between Hamas and Israel. (here)
Fake news
Several Facebook pages have published a post with an image showing a tank that is claimed to belong to the Kosovo Security Force (KSF). However, after research and fact-checking, hibrid.info has found that the images were taken from the official KSF Facebook page under the name “Kosovo Security Force”. Hibrid.info has confirmed that this is not a tank for the KSF. The images show footage from the annual “AUSA 2023” Conference and Fair in the United States of America (USA), which was attended by the Chief of Staff of the KSF General Staff, Brigadier General Ilir Qeriqi. (here)
The Facebook page named “Bota Islame” has published a video material (October 14) part of a speech by the Emir of Qatar. The caption of the post claims that he stated that if the bombing of Gaza is not stopped, Qatar will stop supplying gas to the world. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the video material in question shows footage from the speech of the Emir of Qatar in 2017 and is related to the refugee issue. (here)
Several Facebook pages with posts in Albanian have published a photo with a fabricated image of a Palestinian flag, unfurled in the stands of a stadium. Through this photo with a fabricated image, a false claim was also raised that the Palestinian flag was allegedly unfurled by fans of the Spanish football club, Atletico Madrid. However, the falsity of this image was established after the verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, which resulted in the finding that the image was created digitally, through Artificial Intelligence (AI) applications, therefore it is not authentic. (here)
Lies
The TikTok account named “shqip51” has published a video showing the moment of the unveiling of a painting with the portrait of Adem Jashari. The author of the publication has also added a caption that assesses that this exhibition did not please Edi Rama, the Albanian Prime Minister, and Ana Brnabiqi, the Serbian Prime Minister. However, hibrid.info has verified the facts and found that the video has been tampered with, finding that the painting that was unveiled did not show the portrait of Adem Jashari. (here)
Clickbait
The information portal "Kosova" has published an article titled "The famous singer is found dead in her hotel room". After verifying the facts by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the title is a generalization that does not clarify which singer it is about and where the event took place. The news is clarified only in the content of the article, which states "The body of a woman was found, yesterday evening, in a hotel in Trstenik, Serbia". (here)
Several Albanian-language media outlets have published an article, the title of which claims that a statement by Egzon Azemi, an official of the LVV, on police salaries, was rejected by the head of the Police Union. However, after verification by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that Azemi did not make a statement on police salaries and that the head of the police did not reject Azemi's statement, confirming and clarifying it further. (here)
Checking and evaluating statements
Kosovo Assembly Member from the Vetëvendosje Movement, Enver Dugolli, invited to the "Debat Plus" show on Dukagjini television on September 27, responded to a question from one of the panelists regarding the non-execution of dangerousness allowances for police officers with the justification that there is still no agreement from the ministries (Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Internal Affairs) on how to handle it and that this issue will be resolved in two or three days. Based on the fact that the Kosovo Assembly has voted on a resolution that would oblige the Kosovo Government to allocate the dangerousness allowances for the Kosovo Police within certain deadlines, as well as based on today's statement by Prime Minister Kurti, who has requested time to fulfill the conditions for Kosovo police officers, hibrid.info assesses that the September 27 promise of MP Enver Dugolli on the implementation of dangerousness allowances for police officers within two-three days has not been fulfilled. (here)