Last week was characterized by the dominance of fake news in the misinformation ecosphere in Albanian-language content.
The fake news published on TikTok and suspicious portals related to topics such as: the AI image of the Albanian National Team stadium, that a strong earthquake hits Albania, that Kosovo is arming itself with heavy weapons, that on December 3, over 500 Wagner troops will enter Kosovo to attack the police and population of Kosovo, and an unspoken statement by Angelina Jolie about the Hamas-Israel conflict.
Unverified content published on social media was related to the Hamas-Israel conflict, and the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia claimed that 'Albanian extremists' stole the Serbian church in Bardhosh, Pristina, despite the fact that the perpetrators are unknown.
Deceptive content has been published on social media platforms Facebook and TikTok claiming to reward audiences with monetary value using video footage of well-known figures such as Leonora Jakupi and Florian Marku. A deceptive photo from an LDK meeting has been published on TikTok, where instead of the image of former President Rugova, the image of former President Thaçi has been edited.
Clickbait articles were published on information portals about murders and accidents that did not occur in the Albanian-speaking area and the location of the event was not disclosed in the headlines.
Disinformation was published on TikTok and dubious portals with false claims about an attack in the north of the country on December 3, and that Switzerland is looking for workers.
Unverified content
A Facebook page with content in Albanian language posted an image on November 17 showing two soldiers pointing their guns at a child. The images are claimed to be from the Israel-Hamas conflict, in a hospital in Gaza. After analyzing the photo, details are observed that do not match a real photo and it shows signs of Artificial Intelligence. (here)
The Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia has published an article regarding the theft of cash in the church of the village of Bardhosh in Pristina. Regarding this case, this institution has stated that the action was carried out by “Albanian extremists”. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that it is still not known who the perpetrators of this act are. (here)
The Facebook page called “Dituria Islame” published a photo on November 11 showing a woman descending the stairs of a destroyed building. Given that the aforementioned page has recently published material from the Hamas-Israel war, it is implied that this image was attempted to be linked to this event, with the caption “This mother risks her safety just to retrieve her child’s car from under the rubble of her house after the bombing.” After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the image was taken in 2016 in the city of Homs, Syria. (here)
Fake news
The TikTok account named “mrgame.ks” has published a video material in which an image of a stadium project appears, in the structure of which there is a two-headed eagle. In the caption placed on the image, it is claimed that the stadium that will be built in Pristina is shown. But after verification by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the photo in question is generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and does not represent a project of any stadium that is expected to be built in the future. (here)
A TikTok account called “fakte__te__frikshme” has published a video featuring the image of actress Angelina Jolie. The image contains a caption that claims the actress has stated: “Arabs and Muslims are not terrorists. The world must unite against Israel.” However, after fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been proven that such a statement is false. (here)
A video has been published by a TikTok account named "Babajaga454" claiming that the Central Intelligence Agency "CIA" has warned that on December 3, over 500 Wagner troops will enter Kosovo and attack the police and population of Kosovo. However, the claim presented in this video, after research conducted by hibrid.info, turns out to be untrue. (here)
A TikTok account has published a video claiming that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is arming Kosovo with powerful modern equipment. The video shows footage of several tanks, which it claims have already arrived in Kosovo. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the footage of the tanks shown in the video belongs to the US military, which completed an operation in Lithuania in October. (here)
The TikTok account “mtrks25” has published a video of some military equipment claiming that it was donated to Kosovo. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the claim is false, while the video was taken from a Turkish YouTube channel, which explains that the footage shows the Vuran military vehicle. (here)
Several dubious portals with content in the Albanian language published on November 24 and 25 an article titled “A strong earthquake shook Albania, the earthquake was ….”. After fact-checking by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the news is incorrect, as no earthquake was recorded in the territory of Albania on November 24 and 25. (here)
Lies
A Facebook social media page named “???????????????ήό???????????????ј??????Ҝ???????????????” has published a video material over 5 hours long, claiming that this artist, through a live video presentation, is announcing a reward for the audience. In the description of this material it is written “Hello I bless you all!! The first 150 people who say (Hello), I will give you €10,000 and I am real, From now on”. Hibrid.info has verified this video material, which has been proven to be old, from 2019 and has nothing to do with any prize game, as claimed. (here)
The TikTok account named “lagraqsaqi” has published a video that shows an image of a meeting of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK). In the background of this image is a photo of former Kosovo President Hashim Thaçi. But hibrid.info has confirmed that the image published by the account in question is edited. (here)
A Facebook page named “?????????0????????????å????-????å???????????????µ”, on October 3, published a video claiming that this Albanian boxer, through a live video appearance, is announcing a reward for the audience. The description of this material reads “The first 100 people who say (Hello), I will transfer 10.000 euros. This is true”. After verification by Hibrid.info, it has been confirmed that the video material is old, from 2020 and has nothing to do with any prize game announced by Albanian boxer Florian Marku. (here)
Clickbait
The information portal “Insajderi.org” has published an article titled “27-year-old rapper kills manager in the middle of the street: It was self-defense”. After verifying the facts presented in the content, hibrid.info has confirmed that the title is a generalization that does not clarify in which country the event took place. The location of the event is clarified only in the content, which states that “Rapper Key Vhani is accused of killing her agent on October 9. A security camera recorded the moment when the 27-year-old shot and killed her agent in the middle of the street in Miami, USA”. (here)
The information portal “Indeksonline.net” has published an article titled “Terrible accident, truck loses control and falls off the bridge”. Hibrid.info has assessed the title of this article as generalizing since it does not clarify in which place the event occurred. The news becomes clear only in the content, more precisely in the headline of the news where it is stated that “A terrible accident has occurred in Thessaloniki, where a truck has lost control and fallen off the bridge”. (here)
disinformation
The TikTok account named "babajaga454" has published a video claiming an attack in the north of the country on December 3. According to the claim, weapons were introduced into Serbian Orthodox churches with the aim of carrying out this attack, organized by Milan Radojčić, the former vice-president of the Serbian List. Hibrid.info has verified and found no credible sources that substantiate the claim. (here)
The dubious portal with content in the Albanian language “AtdheuLajm” published on November 24 an article titled “Good news for Albanians, Switzerland is looking for workers in these sectors”. After verification and research conducted through online search engines, it has been confirmed that the title of the article is fabricated and does not match its content. While the same news was found published in January 2022. (here)