Facebook page “New Kosovo" published a post today (May 14) claiming to have conducted a survey for the parliamentary elections expected to be held on June 7.
In this poll, the Vetëvendosje Movement leads with 34%, leaving behind the Democratic League of Kosovo (31%), the Democratic Party of Kosovo (19%), the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (6%) and "Minorities" (10%).
In the description of this post it says "The latest survey conducted by "Kosova e Re" in the 7 main cities of Kosovo!"
What's wrong with this claim?
After fact-checking by hibrid.info, data on the methodology used to conduct a survey is missing. The content also does not include any links to a credible source or supporting document.
About the “New Kosovo” page
The “Kosova e Re” Facebook page in the “About” section has a website named “kosovaere.com”. After clicking this link, a document opens that bears the name of the former insurance company “KOSOVA E RE” (see here).
The fact that the link placed in the "About" section leads to a document related to the former insurance company "KOSOVA E RE" and not to a functional information platform or research institution, raises additional doubts about the seriousness and authenticity of the claim to have conducted the survey.
This site has previously published fake surveys, which have been covered by hibrid.info (see here, here and here).
What are surveys?
A survey is a preliminary research to know a situation, opinions or attitudes about something specific. In this statistical method Results are drawn based on the study of a portion of the population, called a sample.
Based on the institute's article Pew Research (research institute for surveys and evidence-based studies), it is clarified what information should be requested about how a survey was conducted.
Therefore, the reader who comes across such content, to verify whether it is a credible survey or not, should check:
- Who conducted the survey and who sponsored it?
- Who was interviewed?
- How was the survey conducted?
- How were people selected for the survey?
- When was the survey conducted?
- How many people were interviewed?
- Was the survey weighted? If so, how?
- Do the survey questions seem neutral and fair?
Analyze
Through a Facebook post, published by the page "Kosova e Re", it is claimed that a survey was conducted for the June 7 parliamentary elections, presenting percentages of support for political parties in Kosovo.
However, the content does not provide basic data on the survey methodology, such as the number of respondents, how they were selected, the period of implementation, or the margin of error. It also lacks any credible source or supporting report that would make the claim verifiable.
After fact-checking, it was found that the link placed in the “About” section of the page does not lead to any information platform or professional public opinion research institution, but to a document related to a former insurance company. Furthermore, this page has previously published fake surveys, which have been handled by hibrid.info.
Based on its working 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.