Last week was characterized by a dominance of clickbait articles in the misinformation ecosystem in Kosovo. The clickbait content was about reported murders that had nothing to do with Kosovo; about the increase in the price of intercity bus tickets;
Deceptive content has been distributed by Facebook accounts regarding false claims about offering personal loans, as well as the possibility of voting for BBVA.
Unverified content has been published regarding the attempted burning of the Orthodox church in Prizren; as well as the publication of a photo claiming to be of the Trepça miners.
Fake content on TikTok that the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, has died; and that the ceiling of Prishtina Mall has collapsed.
Clickbait
The information portal “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article titled “Reportedly 6 killed and 20 wounded”. Hibrid.info has verified the facts presented in this article, where it has been confirmed that the title does not clarify the news and the location of this event. In addition to the non-explanatory title, the photo placed in this article also does not correspond to the content, as it shows police tape with the Albanian text “CRIME SCENE DO NOT PASS”, which suggests that the event took place in an Albanian-speaking country. (here)
The information portal “Rilindja.al” has published an article titled “Bus ticket price increase announced”. The content of the article is about the request for an increase in the price of tickets for interurban transport, using a photograph that does not correspond to the content. The photograph used in this article shows an urban bus of the Public Municipal Enterprise “Trafiku Urban”, of the Municipality of Prishtina. By not emphasizing it in the title and through the photograph used, it is implied that the increase in ticket prices applies to urban traffic in Prishtina. (here)
The information portal “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article titled “After a months-long investigation, 8 people are arrested”. Hibrid.info has verified the facts presented in this article, where it has been confirmed that the title does not clarify the news and the location of this event. In addition to the non-explanatory title, the photo placed in this article also does not correspond to the content, as it shows part of the uniform of a member of the Kosovo Police, which suggests that the event took place in Kosovo. (here)
Lies
The Facebook page named “Kredi personele” publishes posts with the false claim of presenting them as loan offers. The posts on this page contain publications about loan offers that can be obtained online in the amount of up to 500 thousand euros. Hibrid.info, after verifying the facts, has noticed that this page uses campaigns of banks and micro-finance institutions in Kosovo and Albania, whose logos it removes, with the claim of presenting them as its own. (here)
The dubious portal “sot-news.com” has published an article claiming that the content includes the opportunity to vote for the nominees of the television show “Big Brother Vip Albania”. The content does not offer any opportunity for the public to vote for the favored persons, but only the names of the five candidates are presented. Also, based on the research conducted by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the opportunities for the public to vote for the favored persons in this television show are through messages (sms) from the phone, as well as the “my Vodafone” application. While for people outside Albania, you can vote at the link www.voto.top-channel.tvsystem. (here)
Unverified content
Several Serbian-language media outlets have published an article claiming that the attempted arson of the Orthodox church “St. Panteleimon” in Prizren was committed by, as they say, “Kurti’s extremists”. This claim is based on the reaction of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia. In this reaction, among other things, it is also claimed that this action was provoked by “official Pristina’s inflammatory statements against Serbs and their temples”. However, from the fact-checking carried out by hibrid.info it is noted that, apart from the photograph, where signs of smoke are visible, this Serbian institution does not provide additional facts that support the claim that such a thing was done at the instigation of the institutions or by, as they say, “Kurti’s extremists”. (here)
The information portal “Indeksonline.net” on its official Facebook page has published today (April 20) a photo showing several miners praying. In the description of this photo, the portal claimed that it shows the Trepça miners on the ninth horizon, at a depth of over 800 meters. After research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info has confirmed that the image does not show the Trepça miners, but that the photo was taken in the “Stara Jama” mine in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (here)
Fake news
The TikTok account “lumjanana009” falsely claimed on April 18 that Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama had passed away. The falsehood of this claim was confirmed by the Albanian Prime Minister’s personal Facebook account, which posted several announcements on April 19. (here)
The TikTok social media account “gilan_zero6” has published a video claiming that part of the ceiling has fallen in the “Prishtina Mall” shopping center. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the footage was not filmed in the “Prishtina Mall” shopping center, but that this event took place in the city of San Salvador in El Salvador. (here)