Prepared by: Festim Rizanaj
During the week of February 23–28, the information space in Kosovo was characterized by the spread of misinformation content, dominated by fake news.
During this week, fake news has been published mainly on various Facebook pages and online portals, focusing on political and institutional topics. Some of the content has included fabricated statements attributed to the vice-chairman of the LDK, Lutfi Haziri, regarding the issue of the President and the formation of the Government, although such statements have not been found in any credible source. An article has also been published about an alleged “international measurement” of support for President Vjosa Osmani, which proved unverifiable due to the lack of methodological transparency and confirmed sources. Another unfounded claim related to an alleged promise by the United States of America for ten F-16 fighter jets for Kosovo after eventual NATO membership, accompanied by an image suspected of being generated by artificial intelligence and without any official confirmation. Meanwhile, a Facebook page shared the false claim that Vjosa Osmani had been re-elected President of Kosovo, at a time when the Assembly had not yet held a session to elect the president and there was no official candidate nominated.
A fake news/hoax published on Facebook claimed that during an official visit to the United States of America, President Vjosa Osmani had met with entrepreneur Elon Musk and that the latter had promised hundreds of millions in investments in Kosovo, even attributing the news to The Washington Post, but verifications showed that no such report exists and that the distributed image was generated with artificial intelligence.
During this period, scams published via SMS and on social networks were identified: in the first case, citizens were sent an SMS from a suspicious email address with a call to click on a link supposedly to update the address and receive a package, misusing the name of the Kosovo Post; while in the second case, a manipulated image of actor Keanu Reeves was distributed on the social network X, where he was presented with Serbian nationalist symbols and with a changed icon that in the fake version showed Tsar Lazarus, while the original photo did not contain these elements.
Cases of manipulation of facts have been published mainly on Facebook and in some online media, addressing political and health topics: in the first case, a Facebook post presented the statement of LDK MP Besian Mustafa as a firm decision not to participate in the presidential vote, although he had conditioned his participation to reaching a political agreement; while in the second case, some media reported without specifying that the University Clinical Center of Kosovo (UCCK) would apply a fee of 3 euros to all patient companions, leaving out the fact that this fee only applies to companions of patients over 15 years of age and with exceptions for certain clinics.
Cases of disinformation and clickbait have been published mainly on Facebook and in online media: the portal Kosova-sot.info has shared on Facebook an alleged statement by the leader of the LVV, Albin Kurti, about readiness for elections, which was not found in the content of the article, replacing it with another statement with a different meaning; while some Serbian-language media have published unverified claims about an alleged attack by “masked Albanians” on the Serbian Police in the security zone, without official sources and without confirmation from the relevant institutions, including the Kosovo Police.
Fake news
Two Facebook pages have made several posts claiming to be statements by LDK deputy leader Lutfi Haziri. They claim that the number two of LDK has said that the party he represents has the name for President of the Republic, and that the Vetëvendosje Movement has the numbers for government, but not for President. It is also claimed that he has said that LDK wants the position of President. However, based on online research that Hibrid.info has conducted, such statements by Haziri have not been found in any credible source of information. The only time Haziri has spoken publicly about this issue in the last week was on February 20 in the lobby of the Kosovo Assembly, where he never said that LDK has the name for President. (here)
An article has been published that claims to present the results of a “recent international survey” of support for President Vjosa Osmani, reporting high percentages of satisfaction and citizen support. However, based on the treatment by hibrid.info, this publication is not credible, as it lacks essential elements of methodological transparency as it does not identify the institution that conducted the survey, does not disclose the sponsor, does not specify the sample size, the margin of error, the level of statistical reliability or the method of selecting respondents. Hibrid.info has also not found any credible source confirming the existence of this alleged survey, which makes the information unverifiable and suspicious. Furthermore, the reporting also contains numerical inconsistencies, undermining the accuracy of the claims. (here)
An image claims that the United States has promised Kosovo ten F-16 fighter jets, following the country's eventual NATO membership. However, this publication is not credible. Analysis shows that the image may have been generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as it was extracted from a video that the "HiveModeration" platform has assessed as highly likely to have been generated by AI. Hibrid.info also did not find any official source to confirm the post's claim, including the pages of the Kosovo Ministry of Defense, the Government of Kosovo, the US Department of Defense, and the White House. A Google search did not yield any credible information supporting this claim. (here)
“Latest News: Vjosa Osmani is re-elected President of Kosovo.” is the caption placed on a photo of President Vjosa Osmani, published by the “lajminews.info” Facebook page, on February 25. “lajminews.info”’s claim that Vjosa Osmani has been re-elected President of Kosovo is not accurate. The Assembly has not yet held a session to elect the president and as of the time of publication of the claim, but also of the treatment by Hibrid.info, there is no official candidate who has collected the necessary 30 signatures in the Assembly. (here)
Fake news/Hoax
Through a post published on Facebook, it is claimed that during an official visit to the US, the President of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, met with American entrepreneur Elon Musk, who allegedly promised hundreds of millions in investments in Kosovo. The post also mentions that the news was published by “The Washington Post”. After verification of the facts carried out by hibrid.info, it was confirmed that the claim is false. There is no reporting in local or international media about such a meeting during Osmani’s recent visit to the US, nor on the official channels of the Presidency. Also, there is no article on the website of “The Washington Post” that supports this claim. Analysis of the published image has confirmed that the photo showing Osmani and Musk shaking hands was generated with artificial intelligence. (here)
Lies
An SMS sent from the email address “boneszstorm@gmail.com” has arrived on the phones of several citizens with the call to click on a link in order to change their home address, to supposedly receive a package. Hibrid.info, after checking and verifying the facts, has found that the link presented in the SMS is suspicious and does not belong to the Kosovo Post. (here)
An image of actor Keanu Reeves was recently shared on the social network X, where he is shown wearing a T-shirt with the inscription in Serbian "S'ka družim", with three fingers raised on his right hand and a church icon in his left hand, which in the manipulated version shows the image of Tsar Lazarus. After verification by Hibrid.info, the photo was found in its original version, where the actor is holding an icon with the image of Saint Mary, is wearing a black T-shirt without an inscription and has all his fingers raised. (here)
Manipulation of facts
In a Facebook post, it was claimed that LDK spokesman and MP Besian Mustafa stated that his party would not be present in the Assembly hall during the election of the country's president. However, after verifying media sources and Mustafa's public statements, hibrid.info found that Mustafa said: ""In principle, we shouldn't be standing in a hall without a political agreement; so, by political agreement we mean that we sit down, talk about principles and about names." This shows that Mustafa, in his statement, conditioned the participation of the LDK in the presidential vote on reaching a preliminary political agreement. The treated content of the Facebook post presented this position as a firm and unconditional decision, which may create the wrong impression among readers that the LDK has already decided not to participate in the vote. (here)
UCCK has started implementing the decision that patient companions will pay 3 euros per night of stay in the clinics of this center. However, this decision applies only to those people who accompany patients over the age of 15. However, some online media have reported this fact without specifying, implying that the fee applies to everyone, without exception. Meanwhile, UCCK, in a response to Radio Free Europe, has clarified the situation, specifying that the payment of 3 euros per 24 hours applies only to persons accompanying patients over the age of 15 and that the Oncology Clinic and clinics where patients with malignant diseases are treated are exempt from this co-payment. (here)
Misinformation/Clickbait
The online medium "Kosova-sot.info" has published on Facebook a claim that the leader of the Vetevendosje Movement, Albin Kurti, has stated: "Let everyone know that if we have to go to the polls, we as Vetëvendosje are prepared in every way.”. However, after verifying by clicking on the link to the article, it turns out that such a statement is not found in the content. The text quotes another statement by Kurti, where he says that “I see no zeal for new elections”, emphasizing that neither LVV, nor PDK, nor LDK show any willingness or desire for new elections, although they are prepared if they are held. A Google search with the keywords of the alleged statement did not yield any source other than the posting of the “Kosova Sot” page on Facebook. (here)
Unverified content
Some Serbian-language media have claimed without official sources that “masked Albanians” attacked the Serbian Police in the security zone. The headlines present it as fact, but the text acknowledges that the information is unofficial. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has not published a statement on the case. The incident is also linked to previous unverified claims of similar attacks. The Kosovo Police, through a clarification to the media, said that there is no evidence of such a case being recorded or occurring in the border zone. (here)