During the monitoring of the misinformation sphere during the period September 7–12, 2026, it was found that manipulation of facts was the most prevalent category of misinformation, while cases of fake news, fraud, and clickbait were also identified.
During this period, misinformation content was published mainly on social networks, especially on Facebook and TikTok, and addressed various political and social topics. Some of the cases focused on political figures, Kosovo institutions and political developments, while other cases used old content or content created with artificial intelligence to present them as current events in Kosovo.
Manipulation of facts was identified in three cases. A video posted on TikTok showed a truck crashing into a pothole while crossing a flooded road, claiming that the footage showed the condition of roads in Kosovo. However, through “InVID” and “Google Lens” it was found that the video had been previously published in Indonesian media and depicted an event that occurred in Indonesia in August 2023. Another case related to articles in Serbian language, which presented KFOR exercises at Camp Bondsteel and near Deçan as preparation for new unrest in Kosovo and as a reaction to allegations of mistreatment of Serbs by Albanians. However, official KFOR announcements do not mention expected unrest or such a threat, while the exercises are described as activities to increase readiness and response to emergency situations. In the third case, a statement was falsely attributed to Dejona Mihali, presenting as her quote the claim that “it is not the Serbian List that is the problem, but the vice-chairmen of PDK and LDK.” Verification of her statement showed that Mihali had spoken about making the voting of vice-chairmen conditional on the functioning of institutions, but had not mentioned the Serbian List.
Fake news has been identified in a case related to the rules for entry into Kosovo for Albanian citizens. A claim was published on Facebook that from September 7, Albanian citizens would not be able to enter Kosovo without a passport. However, no decision was found in official documents that determined the change in these rules, while the agreements in force allow Albanian citizens to travel to Kosovo with a valid ID card.
Clickbait was identified in another case, where the websites “Prishtina City” and “lajmi.tv” published captions claiming that “1 thousand euros for every newborn” would be allocated. The captions did not indicate where the decision was made, creating the possibility that the Albanian-speaking audience would understand it as a measure taken in Kosovo. The accompanying articles explained that it was a decision by the Municipality of Kallithea in Athens, Greece.
The hoaxes during this period were evidenced through content created or manipulated with artificial intelligence. An image published on TikTok falsely depicted Albin Kurti, at an earlier age, next to a woman at a train station in Belgrade, claiming to be his “Serbian lover Lidija Sokolovic”. Analysis through “HiveModeration” showed a 96.7% probability that the image was generated with AI and 64.5% as a Deepfake.
Manipulation of facts
A video posted on TikTok by the account “infopointstar” claimed to show the condition of roads in Kosovo, showing a truck hitting a pothole while crossing a flooded road. Through “InVID” and “Google Lens”, an article published in 2023 in an Indonesian media outlet was found, which used footage from the same video. The research showed that it was about an event that took place in Indonesia in August 2023 and not in Kosovo (see here).
The Serbian-language media outlets “vaseljenska.net” and “in4s.net” published articles claiming that KFOR exercises at Camp Bondsteel and near Deçan were preparations for new unrest in Kosovo and were linked to allegations of mistreatment of Serbs by Albanians. Verification of official KFOR announcements showed that these activities were related to exercises for base protection, mass casualty management, personnel transport and evacuation, and response to emergency situations. KFOR announcements do not mention expected unrest, mistreatment of Serbs, or any such threat (see here).
Another piece of content, published on Facebook by the page “Jepi zje”, attributed to Dejona Mihali the statement that “the problem is not the Serbian List, but the vice-chairmen of the PDK and LDK”. Although Mihali had written about making the voting of the vice-chairmen of the Assembly conditional on a broader agreement on the functioning of the institutions, her statement did not mention the Serbian List. Because an interpretation of the author was presented as a direct quote from her, the content was assessed as manipulation of facts (see here).
Fake news
A claim was published on Facebook that from September 7, 2026, citizens from Albania could not enter Kosovo without a passport. The content was published by the pages “Fshati Duhël Therandë” and “Arbër Hoxha”. Verification of official documents and agreements in force showed that there was no decision stipulating such a change. Albanian citizens can continue to travel to Kosovo with a valid ID card (see here).
Clickbait
The Facebook pages “Prishtina City” and “lajmi.tv” published content with the captions “BREAKING NEWS 1 THOUSAND EUROS FOR THIS CATEGORY” and “BREAKING NEWS / FANTASTIC / 1 thousand euros for every newborn”. The captions did not indicate where the decision was made. The attached articles explained that it was a decision by the Municipality of Kallithea in Athens, Greece. Given that the pages have a large Albanian-speaking audience and publish mainly content related to Kosovo and Albanian areas, the lack of this context could create the impression that the decision was made in Kosovo (see here).
Lies
An image was posted on TikTok showing Albin Kurti next to a woman at a train station in Belgrade, claiming that the woman was “Serbian lover Lidija Sokolovic”. The image was posted by the account “infofakte10” and was later found on Facebook. Due to the unnatural elements in the image, it was analyzed through the “HiveModeration” platform. The analysis showed a probability of 96.7% for artificial intelligence generation and 64.5% for Deepfake. The platform also identified several possible sources of image generation (see here).