Through one publishing on TikTok It has been claimed that the prestigious British media outlet, BBC, recently published an article on the issue of the trial of former President Hashim Thaçi at the Special Court in The Hague.
The publication contains an image resembling an article with the design of the BBC's English-language website and a photograph of Thaçi from the court proceedings.
"Millions of euros from Europe and thousands of documents from Serbia, the Prosecutor's Office in The Hague has failed to prove the guilt of the KLA leader, Hashim Thaçi," is the title that claims to be from the BBC, translated from English.
"BREAKING NEWS / BBC REPORTS" also writes in the image published by the "Llapi" account. The publication, according to TikTok, was made on June 24. The image has received about 18 thousand views by the time of treatment.
The truth?
There is no such article published by the BBC so far.
A search with this claimed title in "Google" does not lead to a similar article published by the medium in question. Nor does searching within BBC website with this title, it does not result in any articles.
Thaçi is on trial in two cases in The Hague. In the first case, Thaçi, Kadri Veseli, Rexhep Selimi and Jakup Krasniqi are accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes. They were arrested in November 2020. The trial is over. All that remains is the pronouncement of the verdict. In the latest announcement regarding this case, the Special Court in The Hague announced that the deadline for pronouncing the verdict has been postponed until July 20, 2026 (see here).
Meanwhile, in the other case, Thaçi, Bashkim Smakaj, Isni Kilaj, Fadil Fazliu and Hajredin Kuçi are accused of “acts against the administration of justice”. The process there is also ongoing (see here).
Analyze:
The claim that the BBC published an article stating that the Hague Prosecution failed to prove Hashim Thaçi's guilt is false.
Verifications show that such an article does not exist on the BBC and the headline shared on TikTok is fabricated.
Thaçi continues to face two court cases at the Special Court in The Hague, which have not yet concluded.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses this content as "fake news".
rationale
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.