Last week was characterized by the dominance of unverified content and disinformation in the misinformation ecosphere in and about developments in Kosovo.
The unverified content was mainly published by social media pages regarding the armed attack on the Kosovo Police in Banjska, Zveçan on September 24. Video material was published claiming that the Kosovo Police Special Unit is shielding the north, photos of a sniper claiming to be from the Kosovo Police, photos of the Special Unit near the national flag during recent developments, claims about the number of those killed and their identities.
Disinformation regarding the armed attack in Banjska was spread by Serbian-language media and Albanian-language pages on social media. The disinformation content in Serbian-language media related to an audio recording that allegedly contained a conversation between members of the Kosovo Police about the wounded Serbian attacker; the disinformation claim by the Serbian Foreign Minister, Ivica Dacic, that the video released by Minister Svečla showing Milan Radojčić does not belong to that day, because according to him it is visible that there is snow; the claim that Kurti has targeted Serbian children in Kosovo; Petkovic falsely claims that among the Kosovo Police during the action in Banjska there were hired killers who intended to kill all Serbs; Serbian President Vučić and the head of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, Petar Petković, falsely claimed that the EU Rule of Law mission, EULEX, was prohibited from participating in and observing Kosovo Police operations.
The disinformation content on Albanian-language social media related to a video posted on Facebook claiming that the footage shows members of the Kosovo Police arresting one of the attackers; photos of a sniper claiming that this was the sniper used by the Kosovo Police during Sunday's action in the north of the country; video footage showing images of several coffins, allegedly depicting the burial of the killed Serbian attackers;
A photograph shared on social media claiming that the Sarajevo municipality building was illuminated with the Kosovo flag was deemed unverified content/disinformation.
Clickbait articles on information portals about various events that are not related to Kosovo, but which do not disclose this in the title, leaving room for misinformation.
Fake news claiming that Kosovo will be supplied with military equipment from Turkey in October, "Boran 105mm".
Unverified content
The Facebook page “Special Unit” has published a video material with the caption “Special Unit is shielding the north of Kosovo”. The aforementioned page has tried to present this video material as footage from the September 24 action of the Kosovo Police in the north of the country. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the video material does not belong to the events of Sunday in the north of Kosovo, but the same was found and published no earlier than May 29 of this year. (here)
Several Facebook social media pages have published a photo of a sniper, which bears the caption "Exclusive: Here is the Kosovo sniper who executed several Serbian terrorists. He shoots them straight in the face". After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the person in the photo is not a sniper from any Kosovo Police unit, but rather a member of the German army. (here)
The information portal “Mitropol.net” on its official Facebook page “Mitropol Media” has posted a photo with the caption “PRIDE: Special Forces in the north of the country in Shala, pose at the KLA flag”. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the photo depicting several members of the Kosovo Police, as stated in the caption that it was taken in Shala, is old. So, the aforementioned portal has tried to present this old photo as current. (here)
The Albanian daily “gazetadita.al” has claimed that four Serbian attackers were killed during the attack on the Kosovo Police on September 24 in Banjska, Zvecan, where the identity of Bojan Mijailović is being concealed, since his photo was not revealed at the candlelight ceremony organized for them. The facts show that three Serbian attackers were killed, and that Bojan Mijailović’s photo takes its place at the candlelight ceremony. (here)
disinformation
The Serbian-language media outlet “Kosovo Online” has published an audio recording, according to them, of a conversation between Kosovo police officers about the wounded Serb, which was also mentioned by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, at a press conference yesterday evening. Through this audio recording, the media outlet in question and Vučić claim that it is a conversation between Kosovo police officers about one of the Serbs wounded during yesterday’s developments, claiming that assistance to the injured was intentionally omitted, after a police officer utters the sentence: “Even if he dies, nothing”. After verification by hibrid.info, it was found that it is not known who the conversation is between, and that in Albanian it is not said “even if he dies, nothing”. (here)
A video was posted by several Albanian-language Facebook pages claiming that the footage shows members of the Kosovo Police arresting one of the attackers following Sunday's events in northern Kosovo. However, after fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the video was not shot in Kosovo and that the footage shows members of the Bulgarian National Police Service arresting a person. (here)
The Facebook page "Gazeta Aktuale" has published an image showing a sniper rifle. This photo claims that this was the sniper rifle used by the Kosovo Police during Sunday's action in the north of the country, adding that 4 Serbian attackers were killed from this position with this weapon. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that this image does not belong to the recent incident in the north, but was shot in 2022 at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia in the USA. (here)
Several Facebook pages published a video yesterday showing images of several coffins. The video claims that the footage shows the burial of Serbian attackers killed in the north by the Kosovo Police during the September 24th operation. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the footage is old and relates to a completely different event. (here)
In the TV show “Takovska 10” titled “Banjska and the Consequences” broadcast on the Serbian public television “RTS” on September 26, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic claimed that the video showing Milan Radojcic inside the Monastery in Banjska, which was published by the Minister of Interior of Kosovo, Xhelal Svecl, “was not from the day of the incident”. Dacic, commenting on the video published by the Minister of Interior of Kosovo, Xhelal Svecl, showing Milan Radojcic in the Monastery of Banjska, after the question asked by the journalist, said that “the fact that there was also snow shows that the recording is definitely not from that day” in the video. After verifying the facts and analyzing the published videos, no traces of the alleged snow are visible. (here)
The Serbian language media outlet “Alo” has published an article claiming that Kurti has targeted Serbian children in Kosovo. This claim is based on an incident that occurred at the “Braća Aksić” primary school in Lipjan, where one of the school’s windows was broken. The incident occurred on Wednesday evening (September 27) at around 22:30 PM when there were no students in the school. So far, the Kosovo Police has announced that the perpetrator of the crime is unknown, because only the silhouette of a person can be seen in the video surveillance footage. Therefore, the claim that Kurti has targeted Serbian children is unfounded. (here)
Serbian President Vučić and the head of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo, Petković, claimed that the EU's Rule of Law mission, EULEX, was barred from participating in and observing Kosovo Police operations. Eulex itself has denied the claims of Serbian officials. (here)
Petkovic falsely claims that among the Kosovo Police during the action in Banjska there were hired killers who intended to kill all Serbs, and that is why EULEX was not allowed to participate in this operation. EULEX has denied not allowing them in the Kosovo Police operations, and KFOR has announced that the Kosovo Police intervened in accordance with its rights as a first responder, in coordination with them. Furthermore, the Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police in the northern region, Veton Elshani, has said that the aim of the Kosovo Police was not to kill the attacking group, but to release terror from the armed group. (here)
Unverified content / Misinformation
A shared photo claimed that the Sarajevo municipality building was illuminated with the Kosovo flag. After verifying the facts, hibrid.info has confirmed that the photo is edited. The original image, which shows only the building with the same elements around it, but without the illumination with the Kosovo flag, was found to have been published no earlier than 2019. (here)
Clickbait
The information portal “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article titled “After the first Serbian terrorist attack on the Kosovo Police, the war is not over, new terrorist formations are preparing for a new reinforced offensive”. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the title does not correspond to the content. The content states that the article is based on an opinion of analyst Muhamet Kelmendi. Therefore, the title does not clarify that it is an opinion, leaving it to be understood as a warning. (here)
The information portal “gazeta-shqip.com” has published an article about an event in the city of Oruro in Bolivia, the title of which does not clarify which country it is referring to. “Gazeta-shqip.com” is an online medium written in Albanian, operating in Albania. Therefore, the lack of clarification in the title about where the event took place by this portal could very easily result in misinforming readers, making them think that the event took place in Albanian-speaking areas. (here)
The information portal “Kosova Sot” has published an article regarding the decision of the Italian Government to reduce the price of food by 10%, but the title does not clarify which country made this decision. The online medium “kosova-sot.info”, which is a portal operating in Kosovo based on the followers of the Facebook page, has the largest number of readers from Kosovo. Therefore, not clarifying in the title which former president of which country is in question, can very easily result in misinforming readers, making them think that the news is about a decision related to Kosovo. (here)
Fake news
The portal “Botasotere.com” through its Facebook page “Bota Sot E Re” has published a post through which it claims that Kosovo will be supplied with military equipment from Turkey “Boran 105mm” in October. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info through online search engines, no information published in credible media has been found that Kosovo will be equipped with this type of weaponry in October. (here)