Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
A photograph has been published claiming to show a poll on support for mayoral candidates in Deçan, ahead of the local elections on October 12.
it CONTENT was posted on Wednesday (September 17) on TikTok by an account named "deqanisot".
What's wrong with the content?
Hibrid.info has found this survey to be baseless.
The publication has received nearly 24 thousand views by the time of treatment, while the bio lacks a description of this account's activities.
The published content lacks clarification as to who conducted this survey.
Also in the caption text on the photo it says that the survey was conducted by more than 1000 people, but then the graph marks 16,000 votesThis makes the text contradictory, which shows a lack of transparency about the methodology used.
Hibrid.info has researched through the search engine “Google” with the words “survey in Decani”. The search results have shown a survey content in this municipality, conducted through phone calls on the television program “Complaints Office”, which is broadcast on the medium “RTV Dukagjini” (see here).
Hibrid.info also did not find any content related to this survey, not even through the photograph through which the results of the alleged measurement were presented (see here).
In the race for mayor of Deçan, according to the list verified by Central Election Commission, there are 7 candidates – Bashkim Ramosaj from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), Shefqet Tolaj from "Guxo", Shkumbin Demaliaj from the Democracy Initiative, Faton Selmanaj from the Self-Determination Movement (LVV), Jeton Mushkolaj from the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Jetmir Prekalla from the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and Natyra Kuçi from the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
The current chairman is Bashkim Ramosaj from AAK, who in the last local elections (2021) had won in the first round (see here).
About surveys
A survey is a preliminary research to know a situation, opinions or attitudes about something specific. In this statistical method Results are drawn based on the study of a portion of the population, called a sample.
In this specific case, it is not known how many people responded to the survey questions or even when the measurement was taken.
Analyze:
The poll on support for mayoral candidates in Deçan/Deçan, presented through a photograph, is not credible.
The publication lacks transparency regarding the author and methodology, while the figures presented are contradictory and unfounded.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.