Before election periods, there is increased activity on the social media platform "Facebook" of various pages that present themselves as media and distribute content from dubious portals.
These pages publish articles with sensational and "clickbait" headlines, often emotional and vague, that do not match the content, with the aim of attracting clicks and increasing interactions (likes, comments, and shares).
This phenomenon is known as the term "content farm", which refers to networks or pages that produce and distribute content en masse, with a focus on generating traffic and engagement on social networks, rather than accurately informing the public.
In many cases, the same article is published by dubious portals and then distributed simultaneously on many different Facebook pages, creating the impression of a wide and organic spread of information.
Such content often focuses on political topics, claims about electoral developments, or emotional and polarizing material, which tends to generate numerous reactions and shares from users.
“Content farm”
The term "Content farm" is used for websites or online networks that mass-produce and publish low-quality articles, often optimized for clicks and traffic (SEO), rather than providing verified information or genuine journalism.
These sites typically use "clickbait" headlines and rehashed or misinformative content to generate as many visits and advertising revenue as possible.
Some examples of content handled by hibrid.info
“CLICKBAIT” example
On May 4, a piece of content titled “PDK and LDK reach coalition” was published by the Facebook page named “Minuti Newspaper", which in the comments section also contains a link to the article from the dubious website "nminut.info".
The same content was immediately distributed by other suspicious portals such as "trayedit.com”And“new24.us”. These articles were shared on Facebook pages like, “M1-TV"and "News", as well as in a group called "SELF-DETERMINATION!".
After verification of the facts carried out by hybrid.info, it was confirmed that the title is general and does not specify that it is only about a coalition in Pristina, implying that it is about an agreement at the national level.
The content clarifies that the coalition is related only to local government in Pristina. However, given that the country is on the verge of early parliamentary elections on June 7, this formulation has led some readers to interpret it as a possible coalition at the central level, which was also noted in the comments section of the post.
Example “DISINFORMATION”
Page "Minuti Newspaper"on April 27th published content titled "Exclusive | Feride Rushiti was the US's request for President, Kurti accepted the proposal", which also had a link to the article from the suspicious portal "nminut.info".
The same article was immediately published by other dubious portals such as, "toolsyo.com","blog.cookfixes.com","new24.us”And“topm1.net", being distributed on Facebook pages like, "Gazetavip.com","Post News","News","Albanews24"and "M1-TV".
After verification of the facts carried out by hybrid.info, no credible sources have been found to confirm this claim.
What are "suspicious portals"?
These portals are considered suspicious due to their lack of transparency. They are not registered as media outlets, lack an imprint, physical address or official contacts, and it is not known who is behind them.
Furthermore, based on research conducted by hibrid.info, their content is distributed in a coordinated manner across many different Facebook pages, creating a network of repeated publications that functions as a “content farm.” The purpose of this network appears to be to artificially increase clicks and the impact of the content, rather than accurately informing the public.
From the monitoring conducted by hibrid.info, it is observed that these pages on "Facebook", in periods when there are no important political developments - such as the June 7 elections in this case - publish various content to build an audience. While, close to election periods, they switch to publishing articles with political content, mainly using "clickbait" titles and misinforming content.
Therefore, when we encounter such content published by these sites, they should be treated with caution and skepticism. It is important to check whether the articles have clear sources and identified authors, as well as to verify whether the same content has also been published by credible media.