Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
It was alleged that yesterday (August 8) officials who were painting the wall near the main bridge over the Ibar River also covered with paint the Serbian flags, which were drawn in that area.
This claim was raised by the Serbian-language online medium "Kosovo-Online.com".
What did hibrid.info find regarding this claim?
After fact-checking, hibrid.info confirmed that there were no Serbian flags painted on the wall near the main bridge over the Ibar.
Also, not even in the video published by the "Kosovo-Online.com" portal itself are there any images that prove that during the painting of this wall, the Serbian flags were also covered with paint.
Link to the article published on the portal "Kosovo-Online.com":
In the video published by Kosovo-Online.com, it is noticeable that no Serbian flag is painted on the wall near the main bridge on the Ibar. (see video) here)
Meanwhile, the Kosovo Police has also reacted to this event, announcing that workers who were contracted and engaged by the competent authority to clean up some graffiti with nationalist inscriptions, which create incitement and hatred such as "Severna Brigada", which were in the square near the bridge. (see here)
So, neither the visual images nor the Kosovo Police say that there were Serbian flags painted on this wall, as "Kosovo-Online.com" claims.
In addition to the portal "Kosovo-Online.com", there was also a false claim about the Serbian flag being covered with color from the Serbian List and the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia. (see here and here)
context
Yesterday (August 8), a debate was held with the participation of representatives of the Government of Kosovo and the municipality of North Mitrovica, as the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, called on Serbs to participate in it to "express their concerns which will be addressed by our institutional representatives and the country's institutions". (see here)
The Kosovo government announced in mid-July that it intends to open the main bridge over the Ibar River in Mitrovica to traffic.
This prompted Serbs employed in Serbian public institutions in North Mitrovica to protest.
Kosovo Police announced that some people of Serbian nationality who had gathered at a location near the bridge in North Mitrovica have begun to obstruct workers who were contracted and engaged by the competent authority to clean up some graffiti with nationalist inscriptions, which create incitement and hatred such as "severna brigada", which were in the square near the bridge.
The KP announced that these people were escorted to the police station and after being interviewed were released.
Analyze:
The Serbian-language online media outlet "Kosovo-Online.com" has claimed that while painting a wall near the Ibar bridge, Serbian flags that were drawn in that area were also covered with paint.
After verifying the facts, based on the video published by the aforementioned media outlet, it is noted that there was no Serbian flag painted on that wall.
The Kosovo Police also announced that several graffiti with nationalist inscriptions that create incitement and hatred, such as "Severna Brigada", had been cleaned in that area.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info assesses this claim as "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
"The assessment as "Disinformation" is that information content which contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and which is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. Behind the motive of the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies the achievement of a political, financial, psychological or social goal.