Prepared by: Fatbardh Dema
The Chairman of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), Memli Krasniqi, on March 27 introduced Bedri Hamza as a candidate for prime minister.
Hamza is currently the mayor of Mitrovica Municipality.
During research conducted by hibrid.info, it was noted that since the moment Hamza was introduced as a candidate for prime minister, several Facebook pages have been opened in his support.
On March 27, a Facebook page was opened called "With Bedri Hamzen, Prime Minister” (8 likes and 13 followers as of reporting time).
Two days later (March 29), two more pages were opened in support of Hamza. "Bedri Hamza for Prime Minister” (25 likes and 232 followers as of reporting time) and “Bedri Hamza for Prime Minister of Kosovo"(0 likes and 3 followers as of the time of reporting) are the names of these pages.
While the newest page on Facebook, in support of Hamza for prime minister, was opened on September 16, and is named "For Bedri Hamza, Prime Minister” (0 likes and 0 followers as of reporting time).
In addition to the pages, a private group has also been opened on the social media Facebook under the name “Bedri Hamza Kryeministrë”. The group was opened on September 16, and was initially named “Hashim Thaçi – My President” (as of the time of reporting, the group contains 2600 members). (see here)
Hibrid.info, during daily monitoring, has found that before Bedri Hamza was presented as a candidate for prime minister, these pages or groups on Facebook in support of him did not exist. This shows that his political figure has returned to being a protagonist on social media after his officialization as a candidate for prime minister.
Pro et contra
In June, a case was handled involving a video posted on TikTok, falsely claiming that US Ambassador Jeff Hovenier expressed support for Bedri Hamza as prime minister. (see verification) here)
In August, hibrid.info analyzed unverified content on Facebook, which was posted with the false claim that the United States of America (US) had chosen Hamza as the prime minister of Kosovo. (see verification) here)
Meanwhile, in September, an old video from the local election campaign from 3 years ago was published, falsely presenting itself as current. In this video, citizens had expressed support for Bedri Hamza. (see verification) here)
As a protagonist of the public scene, incorrect information was also published about Hamza, which hibrid.info has identified and verified.
A Facebook page had published false information, claiming that Bedri Hamza was against the opening of the Ibar Bridge. (see verification) here)
Another piece of content posted on TikTok shared a false claim that Hamza had promised to increase pensions for war veterans to 1500 euros if he became prime minister. (see verification) here)
In addition to these cases, from March 27 onwards, Hamza has also been part of several fictitious polls, which, although they did not have the PDK candidate for prime minister as their primary target, included him in the results.
For example, on June 10, hibrid.info came across a suspicious poll, which turned out to be fictitious. Published by the account “albinkurti_kryeminister” on TikTok on June 8, this “poll” placed PDK candidate for prime minister Bedri Hamza in second place, with 23%. (here)
Also, on July 8, hibrid.info covered another fake poll, which was again published by the “albinkurti_kryeminister” account on TikTok and which placed Hamza in second place – this time with 18%. (here)
General elections in Kosovo will be held on February 9, 2025.