Wrote: Endrit Berisha
A headline published on Facebook on Monday (July 8th) claimed as a done deal that former Slovenian President Borut Pahor has been chosen as the European Union (EU) envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
"KOSOVO-SERBIA DIALOGUE IN THE HANDS OF BAROT PAHOR, A NEW PLAYER IS APPOINTED FOR THE BALKANS," reads the caption on a photo published by the "Ntv Televizione" page on Facebook.
Clicking on it leads to the “ntv.al” article titled “Dialogue in the Hands of Pahor/ A 'New Player' for the Western Balkans”.
What's wrong with this Facebook post?
As of the time of writing this article, Borut Pahor has not been appointed as the European Union's special representative for the Pristina-Belgrade dialogue. This is confirmed by the content of the "ntv.al" article itself.
The article was based on an interview Pahor gave to the news network "N1". There, the former Slovenian president said that he had met with the current envoy, Miroslav Lajčák, and that during the meeting the Slovak diplomat asked him if he would consider becoming an envoy, if he were given a mandate by the EU.
Pahor has reiterated that he is ready to take on this task, adding that it could be a "game changer."
Link to the publication of "Ntv Televizione" on Facebook:
Excerpt from the article by "ntv.al" (see here in full):
Former Slovenian President Borut Pahor has said that, given his long political experience, he can change the "game" in the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, mediated by the European Union, which is currently in a total stalemate.
Pahor has long announced his candidacy to take over the position of EU Special Envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue, replacing Miroslav Lajcak, whose mandate is soon to end. Pahor even revealed that he was invited to Brussels by Lajcak in March, who, he claims, asked him if he would be willing to consider continuing his work if the Union were to give him the mandate.
The European Union Special Representative is an EU envoy with a specific task abroad. He or she reports directly to the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. There are currently ten EU envoys (See hereThe current envoy, Miroslav Lajčák, was appointed to this position by the EU Council and the High Representative as Special Representative for the dialogue and other Western Balkans issues in April 2020 (see here). Lajcak, as it is reported, there is an agreement in the European Union to extend his mandate until January 2025. This agreement was reached a few months after Lajcak was appointed as EU ambassador to Switzerland, where he was supposed to start work on September 1. As "Radio Free Europe" wrote, the appointment of Lajcak's successor is now directly linked to the procedure for appointing new leaders in the EU institutions. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has been nominated to take over the post of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Analyze:
Through a Facebook post, the Albanian-language media outlet "ntv.al" used a misleading headline, presenting as a done deal that former Slovenian President Borut Pahor has been elected as the European Union's envoy for the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue.
In the media outlet's own article, and in a recent statement, Pahori reiterated his willingness to be the EU's envoy for the dialogue. However, there is still no decision on his appointment.
After fact-checking analysis conducted by hibrid.info, this publication is considered "clickbait".
Reasoning:
The “Clickbait” rating is given to texts whose titles have no basis in the content of the following text. Such texts and articles aim to attract the attention of the reader or even the consumer with a sensational title by promising content that does not actually exist and are created mainly out of financial interest, that is, due to increased readability. So, this type of text is intended only to click, which can be converted into a profit for the content producer.