“NTV.al” has made baseless claims that the European Union (EU) is attacking Kosovo with missiles. On November 21, 2024, the Albanian portal “NTV.al,” which also has a presence in Kosovo, published a Facebook post featuring a video with the sensational headline: “U.S. Senator Raises the Alarm: Russia and Serbia Ready for Chaos.” The video includes an article alleging that the “EU ‘attacks’ Kosovo with missiles.” However, the content of the video discusses only the EU’s demands regarding Kosovo’s dialogue with Serbia and provides no evidence to support the dramatic claim in the headline. Such articles, lacking factual basis, are categorized as “clickbait” with misleading content, aimed at generating clicks and creating confusion among readers and viewers.
The video presents only the EU’s statement, which asserts that the Government of Kosovo cannot draft the statute for the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities outside the Brussels dialogue and, according to them, any proposal must be discussed with Serbia, the EU mediator, and must comply with the agreements of 2013 and 2015. The video also includes part of a statement by EU spokesperson Peter Stano, who stated that Prime Minister Albin Kurti must move forward with implementing the 2023 Brussels Basic Agreement and the Ohrid Annex, which consequently includes taking steps toward establishing the Association.
However, no additional information is provided in the post to support the claim made in the headline.
This news was published on the same day that Ukraine announced Russia had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile overnight, targeting the city of Dnipro in the central-eastern part of the country.
This is not the first time that this online news outlet has misinformed about developments in Kosovo.
*This article is published as part of the Western Balkans Regional Initiative against disinformation. “Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Hub: exposing malign influences through watchdog journalism.”
