Prepared by: Festim Rizanaj
As a result of the findings and treatments of misinformation published last week, fake news is what dominated the misinformation ecosphere.
Fake news was published on social media, specifically on TikTok and Facebook. This fake news was published with claims about the arming of the KSF, specifically the claims that Albin Kurti has stated that Kosovo and Turkey have signed an agreement for the fighter jet, “Kizilelma”; that “Turkish combat helicopters “T129 ATAK” will be in the hands of Kosovars; that military vehicles have been given to Kosovo as a gift by the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Disinformation was published on social media claiming that Drizan Shala, an expert on security issues, had hinted that "the Kosovo army will be strengthened by September with 10 troops and anti-missile systems"; that Kosovo will receive two helicopters as a donation from the United States in 2026.
The claim that the President of the United States of America (US), Joe Biden, has decided to appoint a special envoy on the issue of recognition of Kosovo by the five non-recognizing states from the European Union, which was published in real media, has been assessed as unverified content and disinformation.
The title of the show "Info Magazine" on Klan Kosova television, "Kurti: The Kusari-Radojciq recordings are a montage," has been deemed clickbait.
The claim by the Russian media outlet, Sputnik, a Serbian-language service, which claims without evidence that the Government in Pristina has begun the final phase of closing down everything Serbian in Kosovo, has been deemed a conspiracy theory.
A content published in real media claiming that the European Union (EU) has published a report on the attack on the Kosovo Police in Banjska, for which it holds the Serbian state responsible, has been assessed as manipulation of facts.
Unverified content was published on TikTok with the fact-free claim that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted to statements by European Union representative Josep Borrell on Kosovo.
Two sponsored links published on Facebook have been deemed scams. One involved the claim that senior citizens would be offered free loan payments, while the other involved the claim that free laser surgery would be offered in Kosovo.
disinformation
Through a TikTok post, it is alleged that Drizan Shala, an expert on security issues, has hinted that “the Kosovo army will be strengthened by September with 10 thousand troops and anti-missile systems”. The claim was published on TikTok by the account “der_albaner_mit_vollbart” on April 22. “The Kosovo army is being strengthened, expert: 10 thousand troops by September and a missile system” is the caption that this account has given to the conversation that Shala had on the medium “A2CNN”. After verifying the material by hibrid.info, it turns out that Shala did not talk about strengthening the Kosovo Army, but about increasing NATO troops and deploying anti-missile systems by NATO. (here)
It was claimed that Kosovo will receive two helicopters as a donation from the United States in 2026. The material with this claim was published as a video on TikTok by the account “albinkurti_rks” on June 2. After a fact-check conducted by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that this claim is incorrect. The video contains audio from “Teve1” television, which contains a statement by the Minister of Defense, Ejup Maqedonci, who had stated that in 2026 the Kosovo Security Force is expected to be supplied with helicopters. However, in no case was it mentioned that Kosovo will receive two helicopters as a donation from the United States. (here)
Fake news
Through a video material, it is claimed that "Turkish combat helicopters "T129 ATAK" this year will be in the hands of Kosovars". In the description of this video material published on TikTok by the account "teamkosovo2" it is written "The news has been confirmed by several Turkish media". After the research carried out, hibrid.info has confirmed that something like this has not been published in any Turkish media, as claimed. (here)
It is claimed that a 73-kilometer-long bridge connecting Italy with Albania is planned to be built from 2025 to 2035. The news about the project, which is claimed to cost 10 billion euros, was published (May 13) on Facebook, through a video, by a page called “Thënie të Mençura, tënie filofike, psikhologiji, Këshëla etc.”. However, after a search by hibrid.info, no official project confirmed by either of these two countries was found. (here)
A video has been published on social media with a caption claiming that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has declared that Kosovo and Turkey have signed an agreement for the fighter jet, “Kizilelma”. The video was published on May 4 on TikTok by the account named “gladiatorkosova1”. Prime Minister Kurti has not declared that such an agreement has been reached. (here)
A video claims that the military vehicles shown in the video were gifted to Kosovo by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the latter's meeting with Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti. The video was posted on TikTok on June 2 by the account named "mezatarum". After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has managed to confirm that the video showing the military vehicles has been circulating on the internet since May 17 and was posted by an Arabic-language account. Also, during the recent meeting between Kurti and Erdogan held on May 31 in Turkey, it is not reported that Turkey donated military equipment to Kosovo. (here)
Unverified content/Disinformation
An article claims that the President of the United States of America (USA), Joe Biden, has decided to appoint a special envoy for the issue of recognition of Kosovo by the five non-recognizing states of the European Union. “Who is Biden’s confidant who will be appointed ‘special envoy for the recognition of Kosovo’”, is the title of the article published by the Albanian-language medium “euronews.al”, which was also broadcast by several information portals in Kosovo. After verification by hibrid.info, it turns out that Joe Biden has not proposed any special envoy for the recognition of Kosovo by EU states. It is only a proposal by a group of experts, in a report published in 2022. (here)
Clickbait
“Kurti: Kusari-Radojciq recordings are a montage” is the title of the “Info Magazine” show on Klan Kosova television. The show was published on June 4 on the official YouTube channel of Klan Kosova television. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, when asked by journalists about the publication of an audio recording of a phone call by the online medium “Nacionale” where it is alleged that the head of the LVV Parliamentary Group, Mimoza Kusari-Lila, is talking to Milan Radoiçiqi, the main person responsible for the attack in Banjska, stated that “it is a fabricated situation”. So, Kurti did not say that “the recordings are a montage”, as claimed in the title of the “Info Magazine” show, but that the situation is fabricated. (here)
Conspiracy theory
The Serbian edition of the Russian media outlet “Sputnik” (sputnikportal.rs) has published an article claiming that the Government in Pristina has begun the final phase of closing down everything Serbian in Kosovo. “Sputnik” bases the claim on several statements by the former chairman of the Serbian Parliamentary Commission for Kosovo, now MP, Milovan Drecun. These claims are presented without facts as part of a plan by Prime Minister Albin Kurti for the “forcible” integration of all Serbian institutions into the Kosovo system. (here)
Manipulation of facts
A piece of content has been published claiming that the European Union (EU) has published a report on the attack on the Kosovo Police in Banjska, for which it holds the Serbian state responsible. The claim was published on June 3, through a video material from the Albanian-language television channel, “A2 CNN”. Hibrid.info has researched and confirmed that the EU has not yet come up with an official investigation report, at least not publicly, about what happened in September last year in Banjska. (here)
An article titled “Joe Biden Tries to Sit in Imaginary Chair (Video)” is published, claiming to show the moment when the American president bends over in preparation to sit in a chair, although there was no chair behind him. The content was made public on June 7 by the Albanian-language content portals “kosovapost.net”, “gazetatema.net”, “syri.net” and “lapsi.al”. The expanded video footage actually shows Biden sitting in the positioned chair. (here)
Lies
A Facebook page has published a sponsored link, in the form of an image, in the caption of which it is claimed that the elderly will be offered free loan payments. The link was published on June 5 by a page called “Convenient Loan” while the image contains the logo of the Republic of Kosovo, with the claim that it is a decision that will be implemented in our country. Hibrid.info has found that there is no institutional decision for loan payments for any of the categories of citizens. (here)
A sponsored link, in the form of an image, has been published with the caption, which claims that a free laser surgery will be offered in Kosovo. The claim that a free laser surgery will be offered in Kosovo, for the period June 1 - September 1, is untrue. The page published with this claim is suspicious, while the Government of Kosovo has not taken any official decision regarding the claimed opportunity. (here)
Unverified content
A TikTok account has published a material with the unsubstantiated claim that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reacted to statements by the European Union's representative, Josep Borrell, on Kosovo. The content appears to be similar to what had circulated at the end of 2022. After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has not been able to confirm such a statement by Erdogan. (here)
error
An image of the United States Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, was accompanied by the caption “SERBIANS’ ALBANIAN SPIES IN KOSOVO AND PRIME MINISTER EDI RAMA’S BALKAN RUMBLE” in a Facebook post. The publication was made by the “Ntv Televizione” page on Saturday (June 8). After fact-checking, it turns out that the caption used on the image does not correspond to the content. (here)