Last week was characterized by a dominance of unverified content in the misinformation ecosystem in Kosovo.
The unverified content related to the claim that Sweden has become the first country in the world to officially register sex as a sport; that US Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar has given a two-day ultimatum to Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti.
The claim that the plant called “Sempervivum tectorum” can save you from all possible diseases” was assessed as pseudoscience/unverified content. The claim that KFOR has prevented Minister Aliu from visiting the mayor of Leposavic was assessed as biased reporting/unverified content.
Manipulation of facts regarding Blerim Vela's reaction to the opposition protests in Serbia.
Fake news with videos with fabricated content, claiming that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened Serbia; and about the existence of a deadly virus named "Axar".
Fraud that on the profile of the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, a photograph with an image of a poster with the portrait of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and a dog next to him holding the usual position for urination, has been distributed; and posts with the false claim of presenting them as an online campaign for obtaining loans.
Disinformation claiming that special units of the Kosovo Police (KP) provoked protesters in Zvecan, attempting to trample them.
Conspiracy theory from Russian media claiming that the West is provoking the outbreak of a revolution in Serbia by inciting extremists from Pristina.
Clickbait articles with events outside Kosovo, which do not disclose the location of the event in the title.
Manipulation of facts
Several Serbian-language media outlets have published an article regarding the reaction of Blerim Vela, the chief of staff of Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani, regarding the opposition protests in Belgrade. According to these media outlets, Vela expressed happiness and pride regarding the opposition protests in Belgrade, claiming to have said: “I am proud of the people protesting in Belgrade, everything smells like Maidan to me and I am very happy about this”. The facts show that the Chief of Staff of the Presidency, Blerim Vela, did not declare that he is proud “of the people protesting in Belgrade” and that he expressed “happiness”. In fact, Vela said: Taking some Maidan atmosphere from Belgrade. This is what protests in Serbia look like when they are not organized by Vučić and his violent SNS machinery. (here)
Fake news
Several TikTok accounts have been sharing videos with fabricated content in recent days, claiming that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened Serbia. These videos contain material with false claims that Erdogan has reacted with a threat to Serbia, in connection with the recent events taking place in northern Kosovo. After fact-checking conducted by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that such a statement by the Turkish president is not true, and as such does not stand. (here)
The TikTok account named “kiyameti2024” continues to publish videos claiming the existence of a new virus. The video claims the existence of a virus called “Axar,” which has erupted in the US and China, killing over 2 million people, but hibrid.info has proven that such a virus does not exist. (here)
Lies
Through a photo material, which has recently been circulating on the internet, it is falsely claimed that on the profile of the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama, a photo has been shared with an image of a poster with the portrait of the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, and a dog next to him holding the usual position for urination. The description of this photo reads “PHOTO OF THE DAY”, Albanian – “Fotografia e Ħidze”. However, after verifying the facts, hibrid.info has confirmed that such a post is not found on Rama’s official Facebook profile and as such it turns out to be an edited (manipulated) image. (here)
The Facebook page named “Personal Loan” has published posts falsely claiming to present them as online loan-taking campaigns. In the “about” section, an address in Paris is presented where the creator of this page claims to be the headquarters of this dubious activity, and the places in which it supposedly operates in cities such as Tirana, Munich and Pristina. In addition to this data, this page also has an e-mail address “duanemelissa85@gmail.com”. After verifying the facts, Hibrid.info has noticed that this page uses campaigns of financial institutions in Kosovo, whose logos it removes, with the claim to present them as its own. (here)
disinformation
Several Serbian-language media outlets have published an article claiming that special units of the Kosovo Police (KP) provoked protesters in Zvecan, attempting to trample them. The claim that the Kosovo Police wanted to trample the Serb protesters in Zvecan by provoking them is an interpretation not based on facts. Footage published in the media about the case shows that the Kosovo Police brought food to other members of the Police who were near the Zvecan municipality building and that they did not provoke or intend to trample the Serbs. (here)
Unverified content
Several Albanian-language online media outlets have published an article claiming that Sweden has become the first country in the world to officially register sex as a sport and that, for the first time, on June 8, it will organize the European Sex Championship, which is expected to be held in Gothenburg, this country. This article was first published by the Indian media outlet “OpIndia.com”. The content of this article includes an interview with Dragan Bratych, the president of the Swedish Sex Federation. (see here) However, after verification carried out by the fact-checking platform, Snopes.com which, like hibrid.info, is also a member of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), the claim that sex has been declared a sport has been found to be false. (here)
Several Albanian-language media outlets published articles claiming that US Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Escobar has given a two-day ultimatum to Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti. The headline with this claim made by the media outlets whose articles were covered was made only by interpreting part of Escobar's response, when he says that the deadline for reporting to his superiors is until the ninth of this month. However, this senior American official does not mention the term "Ultimatum". On the contrary, he denies having given any ultimatum to the Kosovo authorities. Prime Minister Kurti also denies having received any official letter or message of any other form containing an ultimatum. (here)
Clickbait
An article has been published with a headline claiming that a decision has been made to pay bonuses for dangerous work for police officers. After research, hibrid.info has confirmed that we are dealing with a statement by the Director of the Police, Gazmend Hoxha, who said that it has been three months since police officers have not received the bonuses and that he expects the payments to be made next month. Hoxha's report to the Security Committee in the Parliament does not mention any decision being made on this issue. (here)
The information portal “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article about the death of the 18-year-old Livorno footballer, but the title does not clarify in which country the event took place. The location of the event is clarified only in the content. Knowing that this information portal is registered in Kosovo and most of its readers are Albanian speakers, the title in question may misinform readers that this event took place in our country. (here)
Pseudoscience / Unverified Content
The portal “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article titled “This plant can save you from all possible diseases”. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the title of this article does not correspond to the content. The content of the article claims that the plant called “Sempervivum tectorum” is used as a medicine for earache and against inflammation. It also states that “studies show that the juice from this plant affects the immune system and prevents cancer”. However, after research conducted through online search engines, hibrid.info has confirmed that this plant does not help in the treatment of all diseases, as claimed in the title. (here)
Conspiracy theory
The Russian media outlet “Russia Today Balkans (RT Balkans)” Serbian language service has published an article claiming that the West is provoking the outbreak of a revolution in Serbia by inciting extremists from Pristina. The claim is based on a statement by the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, who claims that “malicious foreign factors are trying to incite extremists from Pristina to Belgrade to influence the leadership of Serbia”. The entire claim is therefore built only on Zakharova’s statements to RT, but not on any concrete facts. (here)
Biased reporting / unverified content
Several Albanian-language media outlets have published information claiming that the Minister of Infrastructure, Liburn Aliu, was prevented from visiting the Mayor of Leposavic, Lulzim Hetemi. The claim that KFOR has prevented Minister Aliu from visiting the Mayor of Leposavic has not been confirmed by the parties involved in this case. No reaction from KFOR has been found regarding the claim in question, while Minister Aliu has called it untrue. (here)