Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
An article titled, "The prosecution confirms that the listening device found in journalist Vehbi Kajtazi's car belongs to the KIA.".
Ky ITEM (archived) was published yesterday (February 19) by the medium "periskopi.com".
What's wrong with the article?
Hibrid.info has found that the claim for confirmation of this news by the prosecution came from Lirim Mehmetaj, a journalist, which is not indicated in the title of this article.
Hibrid.info has noted that the source of this information clarified within the content when it is stated that, the claim is "exclusively confirmed by journalist Lirim Mehmetaj, through a Facebook status".
After checking Mehmetaj's Facebook account, it was found sTATUS through which he has made the claim in question.
Which means that this information did not come directly from the prosecution, which is also confirmed by a REACTION of the Basic Prosecution of Pristina, which was found by hibrid.info, where Mehmetaj's claim is refuted.
Public reaction from the Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina
Pristina 19.02.2025 – The Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina, with the aim of clarifying public opinion, announces that it denies the statements of journalist Lirim Mehmetaj that the prosecution has confirmed any prosecution will inform the public, as has happened in the past, i.e. through official channels. The state prosecutor regarding the installation of GPS devices in the car of journalist VK, such statements are not in the interest of anyone, much less justice. For any communication and news from which I will continue to fight criminal offenses and their perpetrators and for this the public opinion will be kept informed, such statements may damage the integrity of the investigations and do not serve the clarification and investigation of criminal offenses.
Furthermore, hibrid.info has noticed that the medium "periskopi.com" has AMENDED the title of this article, adding the fact that the alleged information came from journalist Mehmetaj.
Analyze:
Journalist Lirim Mehmetaj claimed that the prosecution confirmed that the listening device found in journalist Vehbi Kajtazi's car belongs to the KIA.
However, the title (later changed) of the article by the media outlet "periskopi.com" did not clarify that the claim came from Mehmetaj and did not present it as a quote.
Which means that the information presented in the title could be taken as official information, confirmed by the prosecution.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Clickbait" and "Disinformation".
Reasoning:
“Clickbait” is considered to be informational content whose title is general and does not disclose the location of the event, context and relevance. Such texts and articles aim to attract the attention of the audience with sensational headlines with misleading consequences, which do not accurately clarify the content of the article. “Clickbait” headlines are mainly made to attract readability in the case of media publications and/or to earn from clicks in the case of commercial publications.
"Disinformation" is defined as information content that contains a "mix" of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful attributes, and that is created and/or distributed with the deliberate intention of causing harm. The motive behind the producers/distributors of disinformation content lies in achieving a political, financial, psychological or social goal.