Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
An image has been published showing columnist Halil Matoshi, with the caption claiming that he has stated that "Vjosa Osmani's meeting with Trump is nothing more than a simple meeting".
it CONTENT was published on Thursday (January 22) on Facebook, by a page called "Shqip-AI".
The truth?
Hibrid.info found that Matoshi has not made such a statement.
Post caption:
"NEWS | Matoshi: Osman's meeting with Trump was simple
Political analyst Halil Matoshi has commented on President Vjosa Osmani's meeting with US President Donald Trump, describing it as an ordinary meeting, without any particular political weight.
"Vjosa Osmani's meeting with Trump is nothing more than a simple meeting," Matoshi declared, adding that such meetings should not be presented as major diplomatic achievements.
His statement has sparked reactions and discussions on social networks, where citizens and analysts have shared different opinions about the importance of this meeting and the role of Kosovo diplomacy.
This content has received over 200 likes and over 600 comments. The content of many of the comments suggests that the audience is likely to perceive the content as credible.
The page that published the post has over 344 thousand followers (see here). From the data presented by the site itself, it is claimed that it functions as a portal (see here).
However, the site in question does not have a website and it is not part of the Council of Written Media (KMShK), where written media are members (see here).
Hibrid.info searched via Google for the words that represent the caption in the image. The search results did not show any reliable sources that would confirm the alleged statement (see here).
Also, after checking Matoshi's Facebook account, no post was found that would prove that he said what is alleged (see here).
Hibrid.info investigated the YouTube channel of "Kanal 10" television, where Matoshi is usually invited as a panelist on political debate shows. He was present on the show "Adresa", which was broadcast and published on Thursday (January 22) on this medium's channel (see here).
After checking the video, in the show where Matoshi was present, Hibrid.info found that he commented on Osman's meeting with Trump. According to a video taken from this show, it is confirmed that Matoshi assessed this meeting as "encouraging" (see here).
President Vjosa Osmani represented Kosovo at the founding ceremony of the Gaza Peace Board, led by the United States of America (US). During this ceremony held on Thursday (January 22), President Osmani signed the Charter of the Peace Board as a founding member and had the opportunity to meet with Donald Trump, the US president (see here).
Matoshi's statement transcribed:
"I saw tonight the president's rather encouraging meeting with President Trump, for the simple reason that a small country is finally being recognized for its contribution to creating peace in the world, because we have been through UNMIK and KFOR."
"You are finally a factor in international politics, in my opinion, and this is encouraging, it is a great move."
Analyze:
The claim that columnist Halil Matoshi stated that President Vjosa Osmani's meeting with US President Donald Trump was a "simple meeting" is not accurate.
Verification conducted by hibrid.info shows that this statement was not made by Matoshi and that, in a television appearance, he described the meeting as "encouraging", which contradicts the content shared on Facebook.
Therefore, based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content 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.