Last week was characterized by a dominance of clickbait articles and disinformation in the information sphere in Kosovo.
The clickbait articles dealt with developments unrelated to Kosovo, without providing information about the country being covered in the news.
The disinformation was related to video materials on TikTok with claims that the Serbian state has thanked the Albanian state and the opposition in Kosovo for supporting the overthrow of the Kosovo Government; that Bill Clinton, during his visit to Tirana, warned of Albin Kurti's tragic end; an article with the claim in the title that NATO Deputy Secretary General, Thomas Goffus, has considered Kosovo an ineffective security partner.
Unverified content related to photographs purporting to depict the state of the protests currently taking place in France.
False content claiming that Egypt has withdrawn its recognition of Kosovo's independence and that Kosovo will be equipped with numerous helicopters.
Fraud with articles about love affairs and lending.
Clickbait
The Albanian language media “lajmifundit.al” and “gazeta-shqip.com” have published an article about the discovery of a person’s remains in a park with a general title, without clarifying in which country the event took place. These media operate in Albania and based on the followers of the Facebook page, their readers are mainly Albanian speakers. Therefore, not providing information about the place where the news is about can very easily misinform readers, implying that the event took place in Albanian territory. (here)
The information portal "Gazeta Express" has published an article on Facebook regarding Edi Rama's statement regarding Bilall Kasami's refusal to meet with him, but the title implies that Rama referred to Prime Minister Albin Kurti with his statement. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been proven that Edi Rama, the Prime Minister of Albania, has not commented on the refusal to meet by Albin Kurti, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, in the way indicated by the title of the article. The news is clarified only after clicking on the article, the title of which then explains that Rama spoke about the refusal of the meeting by Bilall Kasami, the mayor of Tetova. (here)
The information portal “Kosova-sot.info” has published an article regarding the proposal of the Minister of Labor in Spain, that young people be given 20 thousand euros after they turn 18, but the title does not clarify in which country this proposal was made. The online medium “kosova-sot.info”, which is a portal that operates in Kosovo based on the followers of the Facebook page, has the largest number of readers from Kosovo. Therefore, the failure to provide information about the location of the event, by this portal, could very easily result in misinforming readers, making them think that this proposal was made by the state of Kosovo. (here)
Several news portals have published an article titled “Pristina Municipality gives 70 euros for registering children in private kindergartens”. Hibrid.info has verified the facts and has confirmed that the articles in question lack a full explanation of the decision of the Municipality of Pristina. According to the decision of the Municipality of Pristina, the number of families that will benefit from subsidies for registering children in private kindergartens is limited. (here)
Unverified content
The online platform “JOQ Albania” has published a photo on its Facebook page claiming to present it as an image of the state of the protests currently taking place in France. The facts show that the photo shared claiming to present the state of the current protests in France turns out to be a film sequence. (here)
Fake news
Several Facebook pages have published a video showing two pilots flying a helicopter, one of whom is wearing the Kosovo flag on his uniform. The description of this video claims that Kosovo will be equipped with multiple helicopters. After verifying the facts, it has been confirmed that this claim is unfounded, as there is no information published either in online media or by the Ministry of Defense that speaks of the possibility of equipping it with helicopters. (here)
A post has been published on the social media “Telegram” and “Twitter” claiming that Egypt has withdrawn its recognition of Kosovo’s independence. The Telegram channel in Serbian with the name “БУНТ је стънде духа” translated into Albanian “Bunt is a state of mind”, as well as the Twitter account with the name “vale_iii” have claimed that “The Egyptian government has withdrawn its recognition of Kosovo*, calls for respect for the territorial integrity of Serbia and its borders as they are”. This claim published by these accounts is not based on any official source confirming the withdrawal of recognition of Kosovo’s independence by the Egyptian state. (here)
disinformation
The TikTok account named “lagraqsaqi” has published a video claiming that the Serbian state has thanked the Albanian state and the opposition in Kosovo for supporting the overthrow of the Kosovo Government. The claim continues to be cited by Serbian media and supported by an image from an article in Serbian by the medium “alo.rs”. Such a claim has not been found published in any online medium, either in Albanian or Serbian. Also, the article from which the image published in the video was taken talks about the opposition’s demands for the overthrow of the government in Kosovo, without specifying any thanks from the Serbian state. (here)
The TikTok account named “KosovariPress” has published a video in which it is claimed that former US President Bill Clinton, during his visit to Tirana, warned of a tragic end for Albin Kurti, in his speech. The video has the caption “Bill Clinton warned of a more terrible end than Berisha for Albin Kurti!” However, hibrid.info has verified the facts and has proven that the claim raised as such does not hold true. (here)
Several Albanian-language online media outlets have published an article with the claim in the title that NATO Deputy Secretary General Thomas Goffus, during a meeting with Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, considered Kosovo an ineffective security partner, also assessing that it is endangering the lives of alliance soldiers. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that this claim made through the title is not true. This is due to the fact that Goffus has never made such a statement. (here)
The Facebook page "The Reis" published a video yesterday with the caption "Paris, Republic Square. France has fallen" claiming to be an image of the current protests taking place in France. The video shows several citizens with the Algerian flag gathered in the "Republique" square in Paris. The video is from the 2019 protests after then-Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika announced his candidacy for a fifth term. (here)
Clickbait/Disinformation
The dubious portal with content in Albanian “atdheulajm.com” has published an article titled “Switzerland is looking for workers – here are the jobs that are being sought without a diploma”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the title of this article does not correspond to the content. The content lists five professions in Switzerland that do not require a diploma, but have other criteria. Also, in no case is it mentioned that the Swiss state has announced a competition for vacancies in these professions, as claimed in the title. (here)
Lies
The dubious portal “xnews7.com” has published an article claiming that a 43-year-old woman from the Swiss capital Bern, named Merita, is looking for a love relationship. During the verification carried out by hibrid.info, it was noticed that in the posting of this portal, it is claimed that the woman in question is Albanian. Hibrid.info has verified the photo and has confirmed that the photo does not belong to any Albanian woman, but is in fact a photo of a foreign citizen. (here)
The Facebook page “Personal Loans” published today (July 8) a post falsely claiming to have organized training on “risk management and client relations”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that this training was organized by the microfinance institution Kreditimi Rural i Kosova (KRK). This page tried to present this training as its own organization. (here)