Wrote: Fatbardh Dema
Content was posted on social media Facebook claiming that a survey had been conducted by the public opinion measurement institute "SDSG" for candidates for mayor of Gjakova.
In this post published by the page "Universal"The poll shows Ardian Gjini from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leading with 39.7%, leaving behind Ervin Shabani of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) with 27.3% and Ardian Gola of the Vetëvendosje Movement (LVV) with 25.5%.
Meanwhile, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) candidate, Shefqet Shehu, ranks with 6.7%, while Anton Shala from the Albanian Democratic Christian Party of Kosovo (PSHDK) ranks with 0.8%.
The truth?
After a verification conducted by hibrid.info, it was found that there is an organization called "SDGS" in the United States of America, but that it has not conducted such a survey. Also, this survey has not been found published by any reliable media.
Hibrid.info has researched through Google with the keywords "Poll for mayor of Gjakova", but the results do not show any media publications or credible sources.
Also, hibrid.info searched for the “SDSG Institute,” as mentioned in the Facebook post, and the results show that by this name there is a non-profit organization in the US, which deals with sustainable energy and natural resource development. (see here)
About surveys
A survey is a preliminary research to know a situation, opinions or attitudes about something specific. In this statistical method Results are drawn based on the study of a portion of the population, called a sample.
In this specific case, it is not known how many people responded to the survey questions or even when the measurement was taken.
Analyze:
A Facebook post from the “Universal” page claimed that a poll by the “SDSG” institute showed that Ardian Gjini (AAK) leads the race for mayor of Gjakova with 39.7%, followed by Ervin Shabani (PDK) with 27.3% and Ardian Gola (LVV) with 25.5%. The poll also mentioned Shefqet Shehu (LDK) with 6.7% and Anton Shala (PSHDK) with 0.8%.
After verification by hibrid.info, it was found that there is an organization named "SDSG" in the US, but it deals with sustainable energy and natural resource development, not political polling.
Accordingly, the aforementioned survey has no basis and has not been found published by any credible media.
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.