Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
"According to the Kosovo Agency of Statistics, over 95% of the population has declared themselves Muslim," reads a graphic published yesterday (September 22).
This post was published on Facebook by the pages "News From Gjilan","Info24.Mk","The Ottoman Empire and the Albanians","Gjilan Newspaper”And“Towards News".
What did hibrid.info find?
After conducting online research, hibrid.info has confirmed that the graphic with the percentage of religious affiliation in Kosovo is old.
Based on the time of publication on Facebook, the page "News From Gjilan", has been confirmed to have posted this claim first.
After research conducted through the automated program “InVID”, hibrid.info has found that this graphic was published in 2017 by Radio Free Europe. (see here and here)
Infographic published in 2017 by Radio Free Europe
To further prove the fact that the graphic with the percentage of religious affiliation in Kosovo is old, hibrid.info has found preliminary data published by the Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) from the 2024 population census.
This agency has not published data regarding the percentage of religious affiliation. (see here)
Analyze:
A graph with percentage data on religious affiliation in Kosovo was published yesterday (September 22), without clarifying that it is old.
Hibrid.info has confirmed that this graphic was published in 2017 by Radio Free Europe.
KAS has not published data regarding religious affiliation in Kosovo in the preliminary data from the 2024 population census.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this post as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.