Tag: Fact checking

The statement of the pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and former presidential candidate, Mr. Ilya Kiva that Bucha massacre was committed by Ukraine itself with the British, shocked the entire public. As this news circulated even in Albania, Faktoje carried out an in-depth verification showing that Kiva, the former right-wing MP, fled to Russia since the beginning of the war. Such...

During the mentioned period, pro-Russian and pro-Ukrainian disinformation and incorrect narratives were noticed, with a significant difference that pro-Russians are far more centralized, organized, widespread and dangerous and use long-established structures for expansion in the region. An analysis of the available content indicates that pro-Ukrainian disinformation about the war arose ad hoc and recently, i.e., during the Russian invasion itself, and is...

A misinforming headline on the recognition of Kosovo's Independence and other false news After the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the dramatizing of the situation due to the prohibition of Serbia’s elections in Kosovo, there was noted a large increase in the dissemination of fake news. Online media and some Facebook pages continue to spread unverified and false news, including...

A total of 37 websites from the region announced that Russia accused Ukraine of shelling Russian territory and that Ukraine denies responsibility. Some websites, 30 of them, on the other hand, completely left out Ukraine’s denials of these accusations.   In the days before Russia invaded Ukraine, media from across the region reported on events in eastern Ukraine, mostly sharing reports...

A video, shared on social networks and in articles on several websites, claims to show Russian paratroopers landing in Ukraine. The video, however, is from 2018. An article was published on the website Vecernje Novosti on February 24, 2022. It was entitled: RUSSIAN MILITARY PARATROOPERS LAND IN UKRAINE? Watch the video circulating on the networks (VIDEO) The article states that there is...

In a speech he delivered in the evening hours of February 24, 2022, the President of Ukraine refuted the claim that he had left the territory of Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, the website Informer published an article with the title claiming that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky “is packing his suitcases for London”: WHEN YOU HAVE A COMEDIAN FOR...

Russian state media Sputnik published a claim on its Serbian-language website that “France is in favor of dialogue”, while other EU leaders are “in favor of sanctions” against Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. This is disinformation. Various boxes in a food basket and two flags on an abstract background, the concept of trade between France and Russia An article...

On February 27, 2022, the website Sputnik published an article on the alleged use of banned ammunition in Ukraine. The article is entitled: Russian Ministry of Defense: Ukrainian forces use phosphorus ammunition According to the article, a spokesman for the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said that units of the Ukrainian army used ammunition filled with white phosphorus. The Ukrainian army, desperate...

Media from all over the world, including our region, are intensively reporting on the war in Ukraine. Some media try to report on the events responsibly, accurately and ethically. On the other hand, some openly side with Russian war propaganda, promoting Putin’s claims about the “denazification” of Ukraine and the prevention of the alleged genocide in Donbas. In such reports,...

On February 26, 2022, the website of Alternative Television (ATV) published an article entitled: Putin is portrayed as Hitler, and four-year-old photographs are released to the public The article states that many fake videos and photos are misrepresented on social networks to show the conflict in Ukraine. An example is a photo of a woman whose head is covered in bandages. This photo...

In their headlines, some media outlets have several times declared the “beginning of the war” in Ukraine.     For months, media from all over the world have been closely following the events in the increasingly tense relations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Large international media houses, as well as local media, report on this topic on a daily basis. As stated...

On December 29, 2021, an article was published on the website of Alternative television regarding the misdemeanor warrants handed over to individuals who passed through East Sarajevo in a car with the flag of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The article incorrectly claims that the flag on the rear window of the car is, in fact, “the war flag of...

On May 27, 2021, the Steering Board of the Peace Implementation Council (PIC) appointed Christian Schmidt as the new High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Republic of Srpska (RS), as well as many of its officials, have since tried to dispute his legitimacy and legality, refusing to recognize him as High Representative. The day after Schmidt’s appointment, on May 28,...

Incorrect interpretations of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina have become commonplace in articles in the domestic media, and in public appearances of politicians in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thus, the phrase that “the Dayton Agreement created a state union of BiH composed of two entities, the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of BiH” has been reappearing in public...

Reporting on an interview with Christian Schmidt, High Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the Süddeutsche Zeitung, the website Novi Standard published an article on 19 December. The title of the article claims that Schmidt said that “NATO troops should be sent to BiH”: Schmidt: The decision of the Assembly of the Republic of Srpska is dangerous, send NATO troops...

On December 8, 2021, the website Slobodna Bosna published an article entitled: DODIK IS GROUPING ARMED FORCE IN DOBOJ: Jerinic cedes land to RS MUP The article reports that the City of Doboj ceded the land to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Srpska to build a facility for the accommodation of the Doboj Gendarmerie Unit. The Mayor of Doboj, Boris...

Delegate in the House of Peoples of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina (PSBiH), Dusanka Majkic, was a guest on December 2, 2021, in the morning program of the public broadcaster of the Radio-Television of Republika Srpska (RTRS). During her visit, Majkic, among other things, spoke about Bakir Izetbegovic’s request that members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH)...

It has now become customary that in every election held in Serbia there’s an increase in the nationalist discourse of political leaders there regarding Kosovo. Politicians on the left and right, in power and in opposition, compete over who is tougher in relation to policies they would pursue towards Kosovo if they won the elections. The same thing happened...

The inflows of Russian citizens in Albania for tourism are reported to have doubled compared to 2015, which is considered a positive thing by local entrepreneurs.  But, intelligence and counter-terrorism services have long been on alert regarding the suspicious activities of some Russian nationals, whose entry does not appear to be accidental or for tourism purposes. Meanwhile, with the...

Misinformation about the relocation of the Serbian army to the border and a misleading title about liberalization A few days before the elections in Serbia and after Prime Minister Albin Kurti decided not to allow the organization of Serbian elections in Kosovo, a protest was organized in North Mitrovica led by the head of Serbian List, also the Minister of...