Disinformation and clickbait articles have been the misinformation categories that have dominated the media ecosystem over the past week.
The disinformation content related to topics related to financial assistance for private sector workers, new electricity tariffs, the attack on the border police, and the Serbian-language media outlet's disinformation claim that through the Draft Law on Religious Freedom, Albanians seek to eliminate the presence of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo.
Clickbait articles were mostly old content re-published as current related to murder, loss of life, the Trust, and financial support for students.
The article assessed as an error was linked to an incorrect title, claiming that Meshar Selimaj is Aurona Pelaj's lawyer.
disinformation
Several Facebook pages have published an article titled “'200 euros for private sector workers', the end of this category is coming”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the title of this article is fabricated, while the news is old, published in November 2022. (here)
The dubious portal “bbcnewsm.com” has published an old article from June 2022, regarding the decision of the Supreme Court, which at that time had overturned the decision of the Basic Court of Pristina regarding the postponement of the implementation of new electricity tariffs. This dubious portal has tried to present this old article as current, by putting the title as “BREAKING NEWS”. (here)
Several Facebook pages published yesterday (January 24) an old article from November, regarding the attack on the Kosovo Border Police, which took place at the border surveillance facility in Jasenovik. These portals have tried to present this old news as current, thus leaving room for misinformation among readers. (here)
The dubious portal with content in the Albanian language “bbcnewsm.com” has published an article titled “BREAKING NEWS/ Kosovo just got the long-awaited news from the EU”. Hibrid.info has verified the facts presented in this article and, after research conducted through online search engines, it turns out that this news is old, published on September 15, 2021. In addition to the fact that the news is old, the dubious portal “bbcnewsm.com” has given this article a fabricated title with the claim of presenting it as current. (here)
Several Facebook pages have published an old article (November 2022) regarding several KSF vehicles, which were seen circulating on the streets of Ferizaj. These pages have tried to present this old article as current, which they posted yesterday on January 26. Also, although it is about KSF vehicles, the photograph used does not show KSF vehicles, but a vehicle of the Kosovo Police Special Unit, as well as a member of it, and this image belongs to another event. (here)
The Serbian-language media outlet “Alo.rs” has published an article with the claim in the title that, through the Draft Law on Religious Freedom, Albanians seek to eliminate the presence of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Kosovo. The article published by the Serbian-language media outlet is related to the decision of the Government of Kosovo to approve the amendment to the Draft Law on Religious Freedom. The content of the article is a translation of the article by “Gazeta Express”, which provides the content of this draft law. The article published by Gazeta Express provides details of what the new Draft Law on Religious Freedom in Kosovo provides, where no special conditions are specified for the Serbian Orthodox Church that would allude to any plan for its elimination as claimed by the Serbian-language media outlet. (here)
Clickbait
The information portal “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article titled “7 people killed in mass shooting”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the title of this article does not make the news and location of this event clear. The news is clarified only in the content, which states that “Seven people were shot to death on Monday in San Mateo, California, marking the second mass shooting in three days in the state, authorities said, reports the newspaper “Kosova Sot Online”. In addition to the title that does not clarify the location of the event, the photo placed in this article also does not correspond to the content, as it shows police tape on which the Albanian text “DO NOT CROSS POLICE TAPE”, which suggests that the event took place in an Albanian-speaking country. (here)
The Facebook page “33shi.com” has published an old article (January 3, 2023), with the statement of the initiator of the Draft Law on the withdrawal of the Trust, Bekim Haxhiu, who at the time had stated that this draft law would be on the agenda from the first session in the Assembly. So, the aforementioned page has published this old article with the claim to present it as current. (here)
The portal “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article, which talks about a 63-year-old man from Berat who lost his life after falling from a tree. However, this portal has given this article a general title that does not indicate where the event occurred. Also, the photo placed in this article does not correspond to the content. The photo shows Kosovo Police vehicles, while that image belongs to an event in December 2022 in the city of Peja. (here)
Several Facebook pages have published an old article from November (2022), which concerns the support of students with 100 euros from the "package to deal with inflation". However, the aforementioned pages have tried to present this old article as current, by re-publishing it. (here)
error
The portals “Indeksonline.net” and “Raporto24.org” have published an article with an incorrect title, claiming that Meshar Selimaj is Aurona Pelaj’s lawyer, and that he has stated that she may have fled to Germany. However, after verifying the facts, hibrid.info has confirmed that Selimaj is not Pelaj’s lawyer, but that of the elderly woman, Minire Nura. (here)