Through content published in TikTok, it is alleged that former NATO commander in Europe, Wesley Clark, has given a statement regarding former Kosovo President, Hashim Thaçi, and the trial in The Hague.
This content claims that Clark said:
"Some Albanians, out of petty political resentment towards Thaçi, are endangering the freedom and independence of Kosovo. We did not bomb Serbia so that some Albanians, out of political ego, could ruin its history in favor of Serbia."
What's wrong with the claim?
Wesley Clark gave an interview to KLAN television in Albania, following the verdict against four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) (see here).
TV Klan has published the interview in several materials, including the one titled "Exclusive/ Sentencing of four former KLA leaders, Wesley Clark: Disappointed with the result”. In this section, Clark expressed his disappointment with the outcome of the trial and the fact that Hashim Thaçi had been held in detention for five years. He said that, in his opinion, he had not seen evidence of Thaçi’s responsibility and described him as a “victim”.
In another piece from the same interview, Clark spoke about the war in Kosovo and stated that Albanians had the right to rebel against the Serbian occupier (see hereHe also said that during the war he had met Thaçi twice and that, according to him, Thaçi was not the leader of military operations, mentioning Agim Çeku as the leader.
TV Klan also published the material "Milosevic, genocidal mind, Clark: Thaçi patriot, returned to Kosovo in time of crisis", where Clark spoke about developments during the war and described Thaçi as a patriot who had returned to Kosovo in a time of crisis. He also spoke about the actions of Slobodan Milošević and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
However, these materials published by TV Klan do not contain the statement that was published on TikTok.
The statement published on TikTok is not found in credible sources
Hibrid.info has searched for Wesley Clark's alleged statement in open sources on the internet, including searches in Albanian and English on Google (see here and here).
The search has not yielded any credible source – interview, video, media article or public statement documenting that Clark said that “some Albanians”, due to “low political inclinations” towards Thaçi, are endangering the freedom and independence of Kosovo.
Also, in the original materials of Clark's interview published by TV Klan, where he speaks extensively about Thaçi, the Special Court, the war in Kosovo and NATO's intervention, this quote is not found.
Analyze
A false statement attributed to Wesley Clark about Hashim Thaçi and the Special Court has been published on TikTok.
The quote is not found in his interview with TV Klan nor in credible sources in Albanian or English.
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.