The information portal "ntv.al" published a video on Facebook today (February 7), with the caption "Kosovo will suffer badly / Balkan expert talks about Dinar's decision."
Hibrid.info has verified that the video material is a report of an interview by Marko Prelec, from the International Crisis Group, given to Radio Free Europe (REL).
Based on the research conducted by hibrid.info, it has been proven that in this interview, Prelec never stated that after decision of the Central Bank of Kosovo (CBK) to ban the dinar, Kosovo will suffer badly, as claimed by the portal "ntv.al".
Link to the video material published by the "ntv.al" portal on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=420199287102261
Through search engines, Prelec's interview with REL was found. (see here)
Excerpt from Prelec's interview regarding the decision to ban the dinar in Kosovo:
Radio Free Europe: Mr. Prelec, how do you view the recent actions of the Kosovo authorities to adopt a regulation prohibiting the use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo, as well as the closure of several parallel Serbian municipalities?
Marko Prelec: I think that the Government of Kosovo is moving faster than I expected from it, it is moving in the direction it has aimed for some time, which has been the establishment of the legal order of Kosovo throughout its territory and the removal of the remaining parts of Serbia, which are substantially present in the municipalities in the north, but in a way also in some other areas with a Serb majority.
Asked whether the implementation of the decision to ban the dinar should be postponed now, Prelec said that "this is something that needs to happen" and, according to him, "it would be much better if it were done in a negotiated manner through dialogue in Brussels." (see here)
After verification, hibrid.info found that in this interview, in none of the paragraphs, did Prelec state that after this decision to ban the dinar, Kosovo will suffer badly.
Analyze:
The claim that Marko Prelec, from the International Crisis Group, said that Kosovo will suffer badly after the decision to ban the dinar is not accurate.
Hibrid.info has confirmed that in the interview given to REL, Prelec stated that Kosovo should postpone the implementation of the decision banning the dinar and that according to him "it would be much better if it were done in a negotiated manner through dialogue in Brussels."
So, in no case did he say that Kosovo would suffer badly, as claimed by the information portal "ntv.al".
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Manipulation of facts".
Rating:
“Factual manipulation” is a rating given to informational content that uses facts known to be accurate but interprets them in a distorted manner. These reports typically use accurate information to draw incorrect conclusions or claims, thereby misleading consumers of media content about the actual meaning of the facts presented.