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.
The fake news has been published on social media, on Facebook, Tiktok and X. On Facebook, claims were published that the Kosovo Army has been supplied with military equipment from Turkey "Boran 105"; that at the end of this year the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) will be equipped with the unmanned aerial vehicle, Kizilelma. On TikTok, claims were published that the start of the school year in Kosovo has been postponed due to monkeypox. Meanwhile, on "X" the claim was published that the suspects who carried out the attack in the city of Solingen, Germany, where a festival was taking place, as a result of which three people were killed and several others were injured, are of Albanian origin.
The publication of a fictitious interview between the moderator of the show "Intervista e Buzhalës", Berat Buzhala, who invited the director of the medium "Paparaci.com", was deemed fake news/fraud.
The TikTok post with the caption: "Millions of euros of investment for the Kosovo Army: Purchase of 300 transporters and 100 tanks planned" has been deemed a broadcast of fake news.
Clickbait has been assessed as articles published in the media regarding an earthquake that do not disclose the location of the event, as well as a re-publication of a letter from US President Joe Biden to former President Hashim Thaçi in 2019, without the title stating which year it belongs to.
A video published on the X platform (formerly Twitter) was deemed manipulation of facts/disinformation, showing several people in a car park in Sweden setting some of them on fire, and it is alleged that the suspects are Albanians.
The publication of a video material on the cover of which was placed the inscription "The decision is coming, the Ibar Bridge is opening" was assessed as misinformation/clickbait.
A post made on TikTok, which claimed that a new poll regarding the parliamentary elections in Kosovo had been published, was deemed a hoax/fake news.
The conspiracy theory was published in Serbian media where the sentencing of Sasha Zlatkovic to five months in prison after he pleaded guilty to inciting discord and intolerance was interpreted as "Pristina's intention to suppress and intimidate Serbs."
The disinformation was published on social media with the image of former MP Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman, who is alleged to have addressed the commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).
Errors have been published in the media that Albania is second to last on the list of European Union (EU) countries in terms of minimum wage, and that Kosovo is last; that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said that employment in Kosovo has increased by 45 percent in the last three years.
The publication of an image with the caption claiming that the two opposition political entities in the country, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), have sent the minimum wage increase to the Constitutional Court has been assessed as fraud/disinformation.
Fake news
Through a video posted on Facebook, it is claimed that the Kosovo Army has been supplied with military equipment from Turkey “Boran 105”. “The Kosovo Army is equipped with “Boran 105mm” cannons, Turkish production with a striking power of up to 10 km”, is the caption that the page “With Albin Kurti” used in the video published on August 20. After verifying the facts by hibrid.info through online search engines, no information was found published in credible media that Kosovo has been supplied with such military equipment (see here) Hibrid.info has also searched the website of the Ministry of Defense of Kosovo for the term "Boran". Nothing was found there either that indicates that there are supplies of such equipment. (here)
It has been claimed that the start of the school year in Kosovo has been postponed due to monkeypox. The claim was made via a TikTok post by the account named "kosovaplus". "Latest news for students: School lessons postponed until 15 09 2024, the main reason is the return of the virus (monkey pox)", is the claim shown in the published video. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it turns out that the claim published by this TikTok account is false. The new school year is expected to start on September 2. There is no announcement from the Ministry of Education on this issue. As in Kosovo, so far there have been no cases of monkeypox registered. (here)
Late on Saturday (August 24), while a festival was taking place in the German city of Solingen, a knife attack was reported, leaving three people dead and several others injured. The suspects who carried out the attack are alleged to be of Albanian origin. This claim was published on the social media X (formerly Twitter) by the English-language account “VukFeNix”. After checking the facts, hibrid.info has confirmed that this claim is false. This is because, in connection with this case, a person has been arrested, who, according to reports from foreign media, is of Syrian origin. (here)
Through a post, it was claimed that by the end of this year, the Kosovo Security Force (KSF) will be equipped with the unmanned aerial vehicle, Kizilelma. This post was published (August 29) on Facebook by the page “Diaspora me Albinin”, which has nearly 80 thousand followers. After conducting research, hibrid.info has not found any information published in credible sources, which claims to supply the KSF with this Turkish military equipment. (here)
Fake news/Hoax
A link in the form of a photograph has been published with the caption in English “Vehbi Kajtazi did not know that the microphone was on, and we said goodbye forever” which in Albanian means “Vehbi Kajtazi did not know that the microphone was on, and we said goodbye forever”. The photograph, which has the form of an article written on the portal “PrishtinaInsight.com”, was published (August 25) by a Facebook page named “Urelirippar”. Hibrid.info has found that this content represents a fictitious interview between the moderator of the show “Intervista e Buzhalës”, Berat Buzhala, who had invited the director of the medium “Paparaci.com”, Vehbi Kajtazi. (here)
Broadcasting fake news
“Millions of euros of investment for the Kosovo Army: The purchase of 300 transporters and 100 tanks is planned,” a video material is captioned. This content was published (August 25) by the “viktorks112” account on TikTok. After research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info has found that this article is old, published on October 30, 2018 by the Serbian-language medium “Informer.rs”. The article is not based on any facts. (here)
Clickbait
“Biden’s personal message to Thaçi: ‘Keep the faith, things will get better,’” is the title of an article published on Monday (August 26). The article with this title was originally published by the Albanian-language medium “epokaere.com”. Unlike the title that leaves room for misinterpretation, the “epokaere.com” article in the introduction indicates that it is a letter from 2019. (here)
“GOD SAVE US/ Strong earthquake in the country, here is the magnitude and here is where the epicenter was”, is the title of an article published on August 26. The article published by the Albanian-language portal “versus.al” was shared on the page named “Preference” on Facebook. The title of the article published on Facebook did not indicate the place where the earthquake occurred. Only after clicking does it become clear that it is about an earthquake in Portugal. The title is the same there too, but the introduction to the article clarifies where it is about. Considering that the site publishes in Albanian and the article is in Albanian, the general title has left room for misinformation that the event occurred in Albanian-speaking areas. This is also confirmed by the comments the publication has received. (here)
Manipulation of facts/Disinformation
A video posted on the X platform (formerly Twitter) shows several people in a car park in Sweden setting some of them on fire. The description of this video claims that the suspects are Albanians. This video with this claim was published (August 26) by the account “VukFeNix”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that this event is old (2018) and that the people who committed the act have not been identified based on nationality, but only as residents of Sweden. (here)
Misinformation/Clickbait
A video material is published, the cover of which is inscribed “The decision is coming, the Ibri Bridge is opening”. The video was published (August 28) on the official channel of the medium “NTV Television”, on Youtube. After research conducted by hibrid.info, this claim is incorrect. There is no official decision to open the Ibri Bridge. (here)
Fraud/Fake news
A post made on TikTok claims that a new poll has been published regarding the parliamentary elections in Kosovo. The publication was made by the account named “mentoralbodollar”. The caption of this publication states that this poll was conducted by an American company and that the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) is leading with 35.5%. After verification, hibrid.info has found that this publication uses data from an old poll and that in the post made by the account “mentoralbodollar”, the names of the political parties leading in the poll have been changed. (here)
error
It has been claimed that Albania is the penultimate on the list of European Union (EU) countries in terms of minimum wage, and that Kosovo is the last. The claim was made in the introduction to an article by the Albanian-language media outlet “panorama.com.al”, published on August 28, and in the headline of another media outlet “radiokosovaelire.com” published on Thursday (August 29). “Among the European Union countries, Albania ranks penultimate for minimum wage, leaving only Kosovo behind,” is the claim in the introduction to the “panorama.com.al” article. This is wrong. Albania and Kosovo are not part of the European Union, and even the published list contains some countries that are not part of the bloc. (here)
It has been claimed that Prime Minister Albin Kurti has said that employment in Kosovo has increased by 45 percent in the last three years. The publication was initially made in the Albanian language medium “ekonomiaonline.com” on Thursday (August 29) and was then broadcast similarly by several other portals. After verification by hibrid.info it appears that the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has not said that employment in Kosovo has increased by 45 percent in the last three years. (here)
disinformation
A content has been published with the image of former MP, Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman, who allegedly addressed the commanders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) with the words: Where were you brave people on Facebook, when the Serbs were raping us.. we were not 20 or 300… or two thousand, but 20.000!!!.. This post was published (August 29) on Facebook, by the portal “lecanton27.ch”, which calls itself the first Albanian newspaper in Switzerland. According to the verification of hibrid.info, neither in her speech from March 9, 2020 in the Kosovo Assembly, nor in any other article found through a Google search, is there evidence that she made such a statement, in relation to the leaders of the KLA. (here)
Conspiracy theory
The five-month prison sentence of Sasha Zlatkovic after he pleaded guilty to inciting discord and intolerance has been interpreted as “Pristina’s intention to suppress and intimidate Serbs.” The claim was made by the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo in a press release on Friday (August 30). “The verdict against Sasha Zlatkovic is proof that Pristina’s sole intention is to suppress and intimidate Serbs,” the statement reads. The Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo has not based this claim on any facts. According to the office’s statement, “Zlatkovic was arrested for verbal abuse while on his way to a humanitarian football tournament on the 25th anniversary of the killing of Serbs in Gracka e Vjetër.” The office has also alleged that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti heads “criminal structures” with the aim of “expelling Serbs.” It has not provided any evidence for any of these claims. (here)
Fraud/Disinformation
An image with the caption is published claiming that the two opposition political entities in the country, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), have sent the minimum wage increase to the Constitutional Court. The content was published (August 29) by a TikTok account named “toke.ilirodardane”, through an image from an article by the medium “Telegrafi.com”. Hibrid.info has found that the article by the medium Telegrafi.com was published last year and that interference in its title has been observed in the image published on TikTok. (here)