FLASH
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The report found a narrative that aims to criminalize NATO, seeing it as something harmful to Kosovo.
Kosovo is exposed to disinformation and narratives coming from Russia and China which aim to incite inter-ethnic and inter-religious war in the country, criminalize NATO and lower society's trust in Euro-Atlantic integrations, as well as reflect the USA as an example. bad.
These were the key findings of the report "Whirlpool of sand" on disinformation, which was drawn up by the Balkan Investigative Journalism Network (BIRN), and which was supported by the European Union.
The report found a narrative that aims to criminalize NATO, seeing it as something harmful to Kosovo. During the analysis, 44 articles were identified as materials that spread propaganda from abroad, 14 publications were found which claim to harm the security of the state of Kosovo, while the drafters of the report said that there were hundreds of other materials that were distributed related to the economy and the pandemic. COVID-19.
"There is a narrative that aims to instigate war within Kosovo, there is a narrative that aims that NATO and the EU only support the Albanian community in Kosovo and not the Serbian community in Kosovo, there is a narrative that aims to criminalize NATO- n", said Kreshnik Gashi, responsible editor-in-chief at Kallxo.com, during the presentation of the report on Monday in Pristina.
This report was published shortly after the warnings of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, that Russia is aiming to incite conflict between the states of the Western Balkans. The EU has shared this concern of Ukraine, while the US Department of State told Radio Free Europe that Russia's malignant influence in the Western Balkan region hinders the countries' path towards Euro-Atlantic integration. DASH said that this very influence shows the urgency of the work that Washington is doing to fight Russian influence. The prime minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, also spoke on November 19 about Russia's intention to incite conflicts in the region. He said that Moscow wants to ignite "a hearth of crisis in the yard of the European Union" in order to "distract NATO".
The support of the Kosovo Security Force (FSK) has been interpreted as an attempt to support a war of Albanians against Serbs.
"Another narrative that is not large in number within Kosovo, but was generated after the crisis in the north, which aimed to show that NATO is not supporting the Albanian community in the actions they are doing in the north, but is supporting the Serbs and this gives us the first signals that a narrative against NATO and the EU has started to develop in the Albanian part", said Gashi.
In the north of Kosovo, inhabited by a majority of Serbs, tensions have increased since the end of May, with the local Serbs opposing the new Albanian presidents. Likewise, a group of armed Serbs attacked the Kosovo Police in September. Kosovo has made Serbia responsible for this attack, but Belgrade has denied having a hand in it.
Another narrative identified in the report is the one against integration into the European Union, aiming to portray the EU as something bad for Kosovo. As for the Chinese narrative in Kosovo, according to the report, the first point is the promotion of the United States as something bad and as a country with high criminality and problems with the rule of law. The second point is the promotion of information about health in China, while the third is the promotion of China as a developed country whose products should be purchased.
According to the report, the media in Kosovo have no standards for handling the Chinese narrative. The report, which has 102 pages, also shows the intention of inciting violence and hatred between religious communities in Kosovo. The report identifies that Kosovo is fragile and does not have the capacity to deal with disinformation coming from Russia.
During the presentation of the report, the head of the EU Office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, said that Kosovo is affected by external influence and propaganda aimed at hindering integration towards the European bloc. "The report shows that Kosovo is affected by external influence and anti-integration propaganda that broadly aim to hinder Kosovo's integration into the EU and NATO. We know that the majority of Kosovo's citizens are in favor of Kosovo's integration into the EU, over 90 percent, and we are grateful. We must maintain these numbers," he said.
Szunyog said that strategies for media education should be created, stressing that there is a lack of critical thinking when the audience encounters fake news. "The report points out that in some cases the media became creators and amplifiers of misinformation. Due to the vast reach of the Internet in Kosovo and the use of social networks, spreaders of fake news have found social networking platforms fertile ground to push their malicious agendas to create confusion among audiences as to which news is real. which is false," he said.
The head of the EU also warned that the media have spread dangerous narratives that could increase tensions in Kosovo. "Another important finding of the report is that the media has spread misinformation regarding the outbreak of a war between Kosovo and Serbia. These narratives are dangerous and can fuel tensions. Today, Europe is challenged by nationalist and far-right politics. As a multi-ethnic society, Kosovo should not allow itself to be influenced by nationalist disinformation," he said. The report titled "In the whirlwind" specifically identifies who are the networks, social media and people spreading disinformation in Kosovo, said Jeta Xharra from BIRN.
"In this report, we have made a map of the various forms of disinformation in Kosovo, misinformation, propaganda and narratives that happen to Kosovo from internal and external factors. Often this disinformation comes with malicious intent, which aims to change Kosovo's direction towards Euro-Atlantic integration on the one hand, and on the other hand aims to increase tensions within different communities and groups on the other hand, said Xharra. "The report is the first of its kind in Kosovo, there have been reports of disinformation, but not by specifically identifying them with footnotes on 100 pages and 345 footnotes of this report specifically identify who are the networks, social media, people who spread lies, untruths or misinformation in Kosovo", she added.
The report was drawn up during the period November 2022-April 2023 and recommends actions for the country's institutions as well as the media. The recommendations include building capacity to deal with disinformation, programs to deal with fake news early on in educating people, funding and dealing with disinformation, and politicians not using fake news as a tool to attack opponents. ./ BIRN
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