Prepared by: Festim Rizanaj
Deceptive content is what has dominated over the past week in terms of misinformation published in the media, dubious portals, and social media pages and accounts.
The fraudulent content was published on social media (Facebook and TikTok) and via SMS. On TikTok, a false claim was published about a poll for elections expected to be held in Kosovo in 2025, while on Facebook, claims were made about hiring truck drivers without a CDL (Commercial Driver's License), as well as about increasing pension benefits. An electronic message (SMS) with a suspicious link was sent to citizens on WhatsApp, which is in Albanian and claims to be from Facebook/META.
Disinformation was published on social media related to claims that Kuwait will invest nearly 1 billion euros in Kosovo, which will be invested in new hospitals, a new stadium in Pristina, and highways; the claim about the confiscation of 24 properties and 11 illegally built and financed by Serbia, in Kosovo; the claim that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Albania and Serbia, with the aim of dividing the northern part of Kosovo.
The video materials with the caption "Serbia recognizes Kosovo/Here's the big news", and the one with the claim that 800 soldiers are entering Kosovo, were assessed as misinformation/clickbait, and the content does not correspond to the above titles and claims.
A report about an elderly Serbian couple, attacked on Sunday night in their home in Gracanica, by a masked attacker of unknown nationality, was rated as unverified content; and through a video showing an overturned baby carriage on the road, it was reported that an accident had occurred where a baby carriage was hit, but which turned out to be a fight between several people.
A post on Telegram in Serbian claiming that Albanians from South Mitrovica have been sent to North Mitrovica to claim that Serbs from the north are frequenting businesses with Albanian owners in that area has been deemed a conspiracy theory.
The publication of an image with the caption "Kosovo is expected to benefit from around 880 million euros from the Council of Europe" (CoE), which in fact referred to the European Commission (EC), was deemed a mistake.
The publication on TikTok of a fake poll about the 2025 parliamentary elections, claiming that it was conducted by the company UBO Consulting, was deemed fake news.
disinformation
Through a Facebook post from the page "Lajme Nga Bota", it is claimed that Kuwait will invest nearly 1 billion euros in Kosovo, which will be invested in new hospitals, a new stadium in Pristina and highways. The photo in this post shows the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, and the Prince of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah. After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has confirmed that this claim is not true. This is due to the fact that in the meeting that Prime Minister Kurti had with the Prince of Kuwait, there is no mention at all that this country is expected to invest nearly 1 billion euros. (here)
“Kosovo Police seizes 24 properties and 11 buildings in Pristina, Gracanica and Novo Brdo that were built and operated illegally, and documents were found stating that they were financed by Serbia.” This is the caption of an image published by the “Lajme Nga Bota” page on Facebook. The claim about the confiscation of 24 properties and 11 buildings built illegally and financed by Serbia in Kosovo is incorrect. Hibrid.info has found that these are properties that have been seized (temporary suspension) and not confiscated, and it is also not confirmed that they are financed by Serbia. (here)
An image has been published, with the caption claiming that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey, will visit Tirana and Belgrade, with the aim of attempting to give northern Kosovo to Serbia. The claim that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Albania and Serbia, with the aim of dividing the northern part of Kosovo, is unsubstantiated. The possible visit of the Turkish president to these two countries has not yet been confirmed, while in public statements, Erdogan has expressed support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo. Also, Turkey is among the first countries to have recognized the independence of Kosovo. (here)
Lies
An image has been published on TikTok that purports to be a poll for the elections expected to be held in Kosovo in 2025. The account “mentor.g.me” published the image with the caption “elections 2025”. However, hibrid.info has found that it is an image from an Exit Poll for the local elections in Ferizaj in 2017. (here)
A content in Albanian is published claiming that a truck driver without a CDL (Commercial Driver's License) is being sought for employment. This claim was shared (September 30) through a sponsored post on Facebook, by a page called “Life guide”. Hibrid.info has found that basic data about the institution or business that has opened the alleged advertisement is missing. The competition was announced through an image published on Facebook, to which a link has been integrated that appears after clicking on the image. (here)
Content in Albanian is being shared on social media Facebook claiming pension increases and supplements. This content was found to have been published on September 4 and 11 by the Facebook pages “Worry-free life” and “Fund Services”. After research conducted by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that no pension increase is planned for this year. (here)
An electronic message (SMS) was sent to citizens on WhatsApp, which is in Albanian and claims to be from Facebook/META. After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has confirmed that the same was not sent by Facebook and contains a suspicious link. Also, the number that sent this SMS has a Vietnamese prefix. (here)
Misinformation/Clickbait
A video material has been published with the caption “Serbia knows Kosovo/ Here is the big news”. This content was published (September 30) on the official channel of “NTV Televizione” on Youtube, a channel that publishes content in the Albanian language. Hibrid.info has found that the information shown in the video does not reflect the claim in the title. (here)
Through a video material, it is claimed that 800 soldiers are entering Kosovo. After verifying the facts, it was confirmed that this claim is false. After clicking on the video, it is clarified that it is a statement made by LVV MP, Mefail Bajqinovci. Bajqinovci, invited to a show on Klan Kosova, said that there is a risk of a terrorist attack like the one in Banjska being repeated, adding that there are about 600 or 800 soldiers waiting for a decision to enter Kosovo. (here)
Unverified content
An elderly Serbian couple were reportedly attacked Sunday night in their home in Gracanica. The couple told law enforcement that a suspect entered their home and physically attacked them, but that the suspect was masked, and they have not mentioned the nationality of the attacker in any statement to the media. (here)
Through a video showing an overturned baby carriage on the road, it was reported that an accident had occurred where the baby carriage was hit. In a response to "Zëri.info" the Kosovo Police denied such a claim. According to the police, it was not an accident, but a fight between several people. (here)
Conspiracy theory
A video has been published showing footage from North Mitrovica, where several citizens are seen near several Albanian-owned businesses that recently opened in that area. The claim that Albanians from South Mitrovica were sent to North Mitrovica to claim that Serbs from the north are frequenting Albanian-owned businesses in that area is unconfirmed. Hibrid.info has found that the video, through which the claim was made, lacks audio and has a short duration of the footage shown, which makes it impossible to understand the nationality of the citizens appearing there. (here)
error
An image is published with the caption “Kosovo is expected to benefit from around 880 million euros from the Council of Europe”. This content was published on September 30 by the Albanian-language portal page, “Indeksonline.net”, on Facebook. Hibrid.info has found that the amount that Kosovo is expected to benefit from comes from the European Commission (EC), not from the Council of Europe (CoE). (here)
Fake news
The account named “gazetaditore” on TikTok has published a fake poll for the 2025 parliamentary elections, claiming that it was conducted by the company UBO Consulting. This post also shows a poll that displays the acronyms of several political entities in Kosovo, as well as the logo of the company UBO Consulting, claiming that the poll was conducted by this company. After verifying the facts, it was confirmed that such a poll is not published on the official website or on the Facebook page of the company UBO Consulting. (here)