PREPARED: Festim Rizanaj
Monitoring of media and social networks over the past week has revealed the dominance of fake news and manipulation of facts.
Over the past week, several fake news stories have been published on social media, focusing on political and local developments in Kosovo. On April 26, several Facebook pages such as “Lajme Nga Bota”, “Fleta Press” and “Anamorava Zerogjashtë”, shared a false claim that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had called for serious action against Kosovo and criticized the government of Albin Kurti. Another fake news story was shared on April 28 by the page “Informimi”, claiming that a supposed research by the “prestigious IDE Institute” ranked Gazmend Muhaxheri, Bali Muharremaj and Agim Aliu as the best mayors in Kosovo.
Cases of fact-finding manipulation this week have included misinterpretation of statements and use of out-of-context images. On April 29, the page “Fleta Press” published an image on Facebook that claimed that LDK MP Arben Gashi had stated that his party would include the Serbian List in a government coalition. In fact, the statement was old and without clarification of the time context. Meanwhile, on May 3, the same page published a photo showing MP Elmi Reçica and another person who was claimed to be Berat Buzhala, suggesting a secret meeting before a session of the Parliament. Research confirmed that the photo was old and not related to current developments.
Another case of fact manipulation/disinformation was recorded on April 29 on TikTok by the account “kosovaripavdekshem2.0”, where an image was published claiming that Kosovo has an average national intelligence (IQ) of 99, referring to a study conducted by psychologist Richard Lynn and political scientist Tatu Vanhanen.
Unverified content/disinformation was recently shared on Facebook, where a video claimed that an LGBTIQ+ flag had been placed in the center of Pristina and then removed by the police. Hibrid.info verified that this claim is incorrect; in reality, it was a work vest that was part of a symbolic installation placed by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Institute as part of the International Workers' Remembrance Day.
A case of fraud was reported on May 1 by the Facebook page “Kronika.com”, which published an image showing a country engulfed in flames, claiming to represent Israel. After verification by Hibrid.info, it was found that the photo was generated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and did not represent a real event.
Another case of disinformation was recorded on May 1 on the “X” platform, where the account “VukFeNix” published a video showing two people lying on the ground, one holding the other by the throat. The claim was that an Albanian in Barcelona had tried to steal a photo from China, who then stopped the perpetrator with a martial arts technique until the police arrived. After verifying the facts, it was confirmed that it was a person of North African origin.
Fake news
A content is published claiming that Sergei Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, has reacted to the situation in Kosovo by saying that Russia as a friend of Serbia should not allow an aggressive government led by Albin Kurti. According to him, Prime Minister Albin Kurti's claim for 1 billion euros for armaments would shake the foundations of Serbia in the Balkans. Furthermore, Lavrov is said to have called for serious actions against Kosovo to protect the "purity" of Serbia. Such a claim was published on April 26 by several Facebook pages, such as "Lajme Nga Bota", "Fleta Press" and "Anamorava Zerogjashtë". Hibrid.info found that the alleged statement does not appear to have been published in official and credible sources. (here)
A content has been published claiming that according to the latest research conducted by the “prestigious IDE Institute”, the three best mayors of municipalities in Kosovo are Gazmend Muhaxheri (Peja), Bali Muharremaj (Suharekë/Suva Reka) and Agim Aliu (Ferizaj). The claim was published (April 28) on the portal page, “informim.net” on Facebook. Hibrid.info confirmed that there is no such report officially published by any institute known in the field of municipal performance measurement. (here)
Manipulation of facts
An image has been published claiming that Arben Gashi, a member of the Kosovo Assembly from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), has declared that this entity will include the Serbian List as part of the government coalition. The photo with this claim was taken from an article published in the medium, “kallxo.com” and the same was posted (April 29) on Facebook, by an account named, “Fleta Press”. Hibrid.info has found that Gashi’s statement is old and lacks clarification of the time context. (here)
An image has been published showing Elmi Reçica, a member of the Kosovo Assembly from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), and another person from behind, who is alleged to be Berat Buzhala, the director of the media outlet “Nacionale.com”. The image was published (May 3) on Facebook by the account named “Fleta Press”, with the claim that the two met secretly before the start of the session of the Kosovo Assembly. Research has found that this photograph was published earlier and has no connection to the current context of events in the Kosovo Assembly. (here)
Manipulation of facts/Disinformation
An image claims that Kosovo has an average national intelligence (IQ) of 99. The image claims that this data was taken from a study conducted by psychologist Richard Lynn and political scientist Tatu Vanhanen. The post was published (April 29) on TikTok by the account “kosovaripavdekshem2.0”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the claim is false. Kosovo was not included in this study. (here)
Unverified content/Disinformation
Through a video published on Facebook, it was claimed that the LGBTIQ+ community flag was placed in the center of Pristina and then removed by the police. After verification by Hibrid.info, it was proven that this claim is incorrect. In fact, it was a work vest placed as a symbolic installation by the Institute Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, in honor of workers for World Workers' Remembrance Day. (here)
Lies
An image showing a burning country, which is claimed to represent Israel, has been published. The photo with this claim was published (May 1) by a Facebook page, named “Kronika.com”. Hibrid.info has found that this photo was generated with Artificial Intelligence (AI). (here)
disinformation
A video has been released showing two people lying on the ground, one of them holding the other by the throat. The video, which claims that an Albanian national in Barcelona, Spain, tried to steal the camera of a photographer from China, who then used a martial arts technique to restrain the perpetrator until the police arrived, was published (May 1) on the “X” platform by an account named “VukFeNix”. Hibrid.info has found that no Albanian national was involved in the incident. (here)