Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
Through a post published on Facebook by the page "Universal", it is claimed that after the victory of the Serbian List in the local elections on October 12, the flags and state symbols of Serbia have been returned to the northern part of Mitrovica.
This post also includes a photograph showing a part of North Mitrovica, where Serbian flags are seen.
The truth?
After fact-checking by hibrid.info, no credible media reports were found to substantiate this claim. Also, the photo featured in the post is old.
Hibrid.info has researched through Google with the keywords "After the Serbian List's election victory, Serbian flags return to north Mitrovica," but that the results do not show any articles published in credible media with the same claim. (see here)
After searching through the automated program “InVID”, it was confirmed that the photo used in the post on the “Universal” page is old. It was found published on January 12, 2024 by the Serbian-language online media “Kossev.info".
Results of the first round of local elections in the northern municipalities of Kosovo
In the local elections, the Serbian List candidates won in all four northern municipalities of Kosovo without a runoff. In North Mitrovica, Milan Radojević secured 60.09% of the vote. In Leposavić, Zoran Todić won with 73.28%, in Zubin Potok, Miloš Perović received 70.58%, while in Zvečan, Dragisa Milović came first with 84.99% of the vote. (see here)
Analyze
The "Universal" Facebook page has published a post claiming that after the Serbian List's victory in the local elections on October 12, Serbian flags have returned to northern Mitrovica, accompanying the claim with a photograph showing symbols of Serbia in this part of the city.
However, after verification by hibrid.info, no credible media source has been found to confirm this claim. Furthermore, through the analysis tool “InVID” it has been confirmed that the photo used is old and dates back to January 12, 2024, when it was published by the Serbian portal “Kossev.info”.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this article as "Fake News".
rationale
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.