Last week was characterized by a dominance of false content in the misinformation ecosystem in Kosovo.
The fake news related to claims on TikTok about a war in Kosovo; about the murder of Alma K, the protagonist of the video with Safet Gjici; that Maria Zakharova said that "Russia is ready to send tanks to Kosovo and resolve the situation in three days."
Deceptive content on Facebook about loan offers.
Unverified content claiming that “Russian criminal groups 'invade' the north”.
Conspiracy theories about the separation of Vojvodina from Serbia, referring to the unrest in Kosovo; and that the animated film "The Simpsons" predicted the disappearance of the "OceanGate" company's "Titan" submarine in the Atlantic Ocean.
Clickbait articles claiming Fatmir Limaj's transfer to PDK; for a 'take it or leave it' draft document for Kosovo and Serbia, with international sanctions for the party that does not accept it!"
Disinformation about a meeting between former Minister in the Government of Montenegro, Jovana Marović, and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, which took place last year and was published as current.
Error and unverified content claiming that "nearly 200 German companies warned of leaving Kosovo due to the political situation."
Manipulation of facts with the claim that a car that had driven through the protest crowd in Gracanica had injured one of the participants.
Conspiracy theory with the claim of conspiracy theorist Arian Sllamniku, that the disappearance of the submarine "Titan" is related to the date of the sinking of the Titanic.
Lies
The “Personal Loan” page on Facebook continues to publish posts with false claims to present them as loan offers. On June 11, this page published a loan offer through which it claimed to offer loan opportunities of up to 150 thousand euros within 24 hours. Hibrid.info, after verifying the facts, has managed to confirm that this page received this post from the microfinance institution in Albania “FED invest”, which it has changed the description of. (here)
Fake news
The TikTok account named “kiyameti2024” has published video materials claiming a war in Kosovo. In the seven materials published by this account, a war in Kosovo is claimed during the months of July and August, and the war is predicted to spread to the Balkans. The author bases the claim on reports from the Central Intelligence Agency “CIA”, even questioning KFOR’s commitment to maintaining security in our country. But hibrid.info has verified the facts and found that the claims given are not sustainable. (here)
Suspicious portals have published an article claiming that the content reveals the identity of the person who killed Alma K, who is presented in the article as the husband of the girl in question. However, hibrid.info, after verification, has confirmed that there is no information confirming the murder of Alma K. and the image of the person claimed to be her husband, in fact represents Fatos Cerenishti, president of a hotel company in Albania. (here)
Several profiles on social media Twitter and Facebook have published a statement falsely claiming that the spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said that “Russia is ready to send tanks to Kosovo and resolve the situation in three days”. Verification that this statement is false was made by the fact-checking platform from Montenegro “Raskinkavanje.me”. The treatment of the untruthfulness of this post, colleagues from Montenegro argue after searching in the announcements published on the official website of the Russian Ministry, which refer to the situation in Kosovo, as well as in other sources where, due to the importance of this statement, it should have been published, and that the same has not been found and published anywhere. (here)
The TikTok account “kiyameti2024” has published a video with the caption claiming a war next week. The same account has previously published videos with content warning of war in Kosovo, but this time the caption did not specify the place where the war is expected to take place. However, hibrid.info has researched and found no evidence that confirms the claim made by the account in question. (here)
Unverified content
The information portal “Kosovapost.net” has published an article claiming that “Russian criminal groups are ‘invading’ the north”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that this claim was made by this portal based on a photograph showing three people walking on the street, which according to the author was taken in northern Kosovo. However, the content of the article does not provide additional data or facts that support the claim made. (here)
Conspiracy theory
The Serbian-language media outlet “srbin.info” has published an article in which, referring to the current unrest in Kosovo, it reveals the alleged plan of the World Economic Forum and Kaus Schwab for the “separation of Vojvodina from Serbia”. This, as the article states, is allegedly proven by the map published on the SEF website, which shows the borders of Serbia without the territory of Vojvodina. However, after verification by the fact-checking platform “Istinoemr.rs”, the claim was found to be false. (here)
The Albanian-language information portal “albeu.com” has published an article claiming that the animated film “The Simpsons” predicted the disappearance of the “OceanGate” company’s “Titan” submarine in the Atlantic Ocean, used to take tourists to the sunken parts of the Titanic. The content of this article includes a short video material, taken from one of the episodes of this animated series, through which it is claimed that the disappearance of the “Titan” submarine was predicted. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the name “Titanic” or “Titan” was never mentioned in this video material, which could have linked it to a prediction. (here)
error
The information portal “Insajderi.org” has published an article announcing that Kosovar expatriates will gather in the center of Helsinki, Finland, to protest in support of Kosovo, to stop the Serb protests in the north and to release the three police officers kidnapped by Serbia. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, the aforementioned portal has attached an inappropriate photo to this article, which symbolically depicts the crossing point of the Berlin Wall between East and West Berlin during the Cold War (Checkpoint Charlie). (here)
Clickbait
Several Albanian-language news portals have published an article titled “Children are ‘drugged’ with tranquilizers in a kindergarten, parents protest”. After verifying the facts presented in the content, hibrid.info has confirmed that the title is a generalization that does not clarify in which country this event took place. These portals, based on the followers of their Facebook pages, have the largest number of readers who are Albanian speakers, therefore, not providing information about the place of the event could very easily result in misinforming readers, making them think that this event took place in an Albanian-speaking country. (here)
The information portal “GazetaBlic.com” has published an article titled “Warning: Internationals have prepared a ‘take it or leave it’ draft document with sanctions for the party that does not accept!”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the title does not correspond to the content. The content states that Vesel Makolli, Secretary General of the New Kosovo Alliance (AKR), said that it is very likely that the EU and the US have prepared a draft document for the immediate de-escalation of the situation in the north, which, according to him, could be a “take it or leave it” proposal with sanctions for which of the parties does not accept it. So, the title does not clarify who made this statement, implying that it is an official warning from the internationals. (here)
A video content titled "Limaj in PDK? - This is how he answers: I am ready..." has been published. Fatmir Limaj, chairman of the Social Democratic Initiative, in an interview last night (June 21) on ATV, stated the possibility of merging with the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). However, hibrid.info has found that the title does not correspond to the content and leaves room for interpretations. (here)
disinformation
Several Serbian-language media outlets published an article on June 17 and 18 about a meeting between former Montenegrin government minister Jovana Marović and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. The article discusses the importance of cooperation between the two countries in all areas. After verification by the fact-checking platform “raskrinkavanje.me”, it was found that the meeting took place last year. After verification by the fact-checking platform “raskrinkavanje.me”, it was found that the meeting took place last year. (here)
Error / Unverified Content
Several Albanian-language media outlets published an article with headlines claiming that “nearly 200 German companies have warned of leaving Kosovo due to the political situation.” The claim was based on a press release by the “German-Kosovar Chamber of Commerce” (OEGJK) issued on June 15. The claim of warning of leaving was denied by the German ambassador to Kosovo, Jörn Rohde, and OEGJK. From the analysis of the facts made by hibrid.info, it results that this chamber of commerce has raised the concerns of the 198 companies it represents and the possibility of giving up investments or suspending activities, and not the warning of their departure from Kosovo. (here)
Manipulation of facts
Several Serbian-language media outlets have published an article claiming that a car that had driven through a protest crowd in Gracanica had injured one of the participants. The claim is based on a video footage showing the moment of the incident. However, upon reviewing this video, it is understood that the protester was not injured by the car, but suffered self-injury from being hit by it. The incident occurred at a protest by the Serbian community in Gracanica, which gathered to oppose the arrest of a Serbian citizen. (here)
Pseudoscience
The Albanian-language information portal “Abcnews.al” has published an article with the claim of conspiracy theorist Arian Sllamniku that the disappearance of the submarine “Titan” is related to the date of the sinking of the Titanic. According to him, if all the numbers of the date of the sinking of the Titanic (15/04/1912) are added together (1+5+0+4+1+9+1+2) they give the number 23, which indicates the year 2023. There is no evidence to support the fact that the number 23, derived from the addition of the numbers of the date of the sinking of the Titanic (15.04.1912), indicates the year 2023, the year that indicates the disappearance of the submarine Titan. The form of argumentation for this theory is based on “mystical numerology”, which is classified as a non-scientific discipline. (here)