Wrote: Sefer Zogaj
The TikTok social media page, "faktehistorikeShqip", on August 11, published a photograph of journalist Halil Matoshi, and the caption of the image reads "Halil Matoshi: Albin Kurti is a UDB man."
This page then asks followers what they think about this "statement" by Matoshi.
As of the writing of this article, The post has received 111 likes, 407 comments and has been viewed over 18 thousand times..
The truth?
After research conducted by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that Matoshi has never claimed, either in television appearances, media articles or Facebook posts, that Kurti is an agent of the Yugoslav State Security Service (UDBA).
After searching through Google with the keywords “Halil Matoshi: Albin Kurti is a UDB man”, no such content published by credible sources was found. (see here)
During an online search, hibrid.info found that Matoshi has stated over the years that Kurti defended Kosovo in Pozarevac prison. (see here and here)
Analyze:
The website "faktehistorikeShqip" did not refer to any source for the claim that Matoshi declared Kurti to be a UDB agent.
From Hibrid.info's research, such a statement has not been found published in any credible source.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this article as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
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.
This article was prepared as part of the project 'Countering Disinformation through Innovation and Experimental Learning', supported by the Embassy of the United States of America in Pristina. The article has been verified by the Hibrid.info team and experts engaged to ensure compliance with our fact-checking methodology. This article contains factual verifications, but does not necessarily reflect the views of Hibrid.info or the US Embassy.