Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
Serbian language media "Mondo.rs"has published an article entitled "'Mrze me zbog mog porela': Momak sa Kosova trbiru u NBA zna i katu je to tako" (“'They hate me because of my background': A boy from Kosovo suffers torture in the NBA and he knows why”).
The article refers to the basketball player of the American team Portland Trail Blazers, Deni Avdijaj.
What's wrong with this article?
After verifying the facts, it was determined that the title is incorrect. Avdija, in this case, did not mention Kosovo as his origin.
basketball Avdijaj, who is originally from Kosovo but was born in Israel has given an interview to the official website of the US basketball league, the NBA.
In addition to his career, in this interview he spoke about the hatred and negative comments he encounters on social media because of his Israeli nationality, and not about Kosovo.
Hibrid.info found Avdijaj's interview given for nba.comIn this article it is noticeable that he never mentioned Kosovo.
On the other hand, the Serbian-language media outlet "Mondo.rs" implied in its headline that Avdijaj was talking about Kosovo.
However, after clicking on the "Mondo.rs" article, the news is clarified.
Excerpt from the NBA.com article, translated into Albanian:
In addition to homesickness, he says he sees examples of anger and hatred towards his nationality on social media.
"I'm an athlete. I don't really get into politics, because that's not my job. Of course I defend my country, because that's where I come from. It's frustrating to see all this hate. Like, I have a good game or I get votes for All-Star, and all the comments are people linking me to politics. Like, why can't I just be a good basketball player? Why does it matter if I'm from Israel, or from anywhere in the world, or what my race is? Just respect me as a basketball player," Avdija said.
"You don't have to like what I represent or how I look, but if I'm a good player, support me. All this hate... for no reason. As if I'm deciding things in the world."
"I'm from there, I respect my country and I support it. I'm a proud Israeli because that's where I grew up. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for Israel and the support that the people and the fans gave me. But all the extra stuff around that? It's just unnecessary," he added.
So, in no case has Avdija mentioned Kosovo, as implied in the title of "Mondo.rs".
Who is Deni Avdija?
Deni avdija is a basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers in the NBA. He was born in Israel, while his father is Zufer Avdija, Gorani from Pristina, Kosovo.
Zufer Avdija, a former basketball player, during his career was part of the "Elektrokosovo" team (1977-1979), which is now known as "Sigal Pristina".
Analyze
Serbian-language media outlet Mondo.rs has published an article with a headline that suggests that NBA basketball player Deni Avdija is facing hate because of his Kosovo origin. However, after verifying the facts, it turns out that this claim is untrue.
In the interview given to NBA.com, Avdija talks about the hatred and negative comments he encounters on social media because of his Israeli nationality, and not because of Kosovo. He never mentions Kosovo as the source of these reactions, even though he has family origins from Kosovo.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info assesses this article as "Manipulation of facts and "Clickbait".
rationale
“Factual manipulation” is a rating given to informational content that uses facts known to be accurate but interprets them in a distorted manner. These reports typically use accurate information to draw incorrect conclusions or claims, thereby misleading consumers of media content about the actual meaning of the facts presented.
“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.