Serbian-language media outlet "Informer.rs" published an article today (June 1) claiming that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is threatening Serbs with expulsion from Kosovo or imprisonment.
The article is titled: “CRAZY AND MORE DANGEROUS ALBANIAN EXTREMES! Kurti's terrible threat: Serbs, leave Kosovo, anyone who stays will end up in PRISON”
This claim was raised over Kurti's statements at the "Globsec 2023" Forum in Bratislava, Slovakia.
After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has found that the content of the statement is manipulated.
Link to the article published on "Informer.rs":
https://informer.rs/vesti/politika/798972/aljbin-kurti-srbi-kim-hapsenje-pretnje
Excerpts from the article published on "Informer.rs":
The leader of the terrorists from Pristina, Albin Kurti, yesterday called the peaceful demonstrators in the Serbian municipalities in northern Kosmet "angry and fascist mobs" and told them that his special forces will expel them from the southern province or they will end up in prison!!!
This claim also appeared on the front page of today's (June 1) print edition of this newspaper. (here)
The Serbian daily, referring to Kurti's statements at the Globsec conference held in Bratislava, has raised the claim that the latter has threatened Kosovo Serbs with expulsion from the country or imprisonment, manipulating its content.
In fact, Kurti's statement did not address Serbs in general, but, as he put it, organized gangs in the north. When asked how a solution could be found for the current situation, he replied:
"First, let's get out of this crisis in the north: which means rule of law, gangs either going back to Serbia or being in prison in Kosovo, as well as, reducing the number of police officers in municipal facilities and normalizing the situation.. "(here)
Furthermore, Kurti has called on Serbs to address him with their demands, promising that he "will listen to them and perhaps even agree with them."
"If they want peaceful protests, demanding early elections, they have a prime minister who has been a political activist his whole life and is more than willing to listen to them and perhaps agree with them.". (here)
Various images distributed in the media regarding the protest and the situation in the north show people with heavy weapons and masks among the Serbs at the protest. Even KFOR, in a conversation with representatives of the "Serbian List", announced that some of their soldiers were injured by people in masks with bullets from weapons they do not use. (here)
Analyze:
The facts show that Kurti did not state at Globsec that Serbs should leave Kosovo or those who remain as prisoners, but referred, as he put it, to organized gangs in the north.
Serbian-language media outlets manipulated Kurti's statement.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this claim as "manipulation of facts".
Rating:
The evaluation as "Manipulation of facts" is given to those media reports that use facts known to be correct, but interpret them in a distorted way. These reports typically use inaccurate information to draw inaccurate conclusions or claims, thereby misdirecting consumers' conclusions of media content in relation to the actual meaning of the facts presented.