Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A Facebook account named "Lule Gjeli" published an image yesterday (April 7) featuring North Macedonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani.
The author of the publication has placed the caption claiming that the latter has declared that Albanians should only speak Serbian.
But, after research by hibrid.info, no source has been found that confirms the alleged statement.
Based on the comments published about the image, hibrid.info estimates that the claim can be read as self-evident by the audience.
Link to the image published by the "Lule Gjeli" account on Facebook:
The account in question has 5,700 followers on Facebook (see here).
Hibrid.info has checked and searched using the search engine "Google", with the keywords "Bujar Osmani Albanians should only speak Serbian", but has found no evidence to prove that this statement came from Osman (see here).
The most recent statement by the DUI candidate for president in North Macedonia, found by the research, is the one that concerns his drafting of a plan for de-escalation in northern Kosovo, during the time that North Macedonia chaired the OSCE (see here), a statement which brought the reaction of the spokesperson of the Government of Kosovo, on Facebook (here).
Analyze:
The caption of the image showing North Macedonia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bujar Osmani, claiming that the latter has declared that Albanians should only speak Serbian, is not true.
After research by hibrid.info, no facts were found that prove the veracity of the statement. Osman's last statement found is related to his duty as head of Macedonian diplomacy, when this country chaired the OSCE.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.