In a Facebook group that appears to support the Vetëvendosje Movement "meVetëvendosje", a photo from an account named "Diaspora Vetëvendosje" was shared yesterday (November 16), showing a portrait of the US ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier.
Attached to this photo is a statement allegedly made by Hovenier, where he writes: "The opposition agrees more with the demands coming from Belgrade than with the decisions of the Government. So, this is how our positions towards the government make it difficult for us."
After research conducted through online search engines and social networks, hibrid.info has not found such a statement made by the American ambassador.
Public figures have also fallen prey to this photo with a false statement. Lawyer Tomë Gashi shared it yesterday (November 16) as if it were a given on his Facebook account, which he later removed.
Hibrid.info, after conducting research, managed to find this photo published in the "meVetëvendosje" group on Facebook (here) which was distributed by the account named “Diaspora Vetëvendosje (here).
This post is no longer available on Tomë Gashi's Facebook account, but hibrid.info has managed to find it published as a "Screenshot" by the online medium "Nacionale.com". (see photo below)
That Hovenier did not make such a statement has been confirmed in recent news published by several media outlets in Kosovo, which include statements made by the American ambassador. (see here and here)
Analyze:
A photo of the US Ambassador to Kosovo, Jeffrey Hovenier, attached to a false statement, has been shared in a Facebook group called "meVetëvendosje-n".
Lawyer Tomë Gashi also fell prey to this photo with a fabricated statement, posting it on his personal Facebook account, which he then apparently deleted.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this post as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
The "Fake News" rating is given to media reports that are entirely the product of a medium that itself contains factually incorrect claims or information.
Content that is considered fake news can be reliably determined to have been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.