On July 22, Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) republished a report originally released by "Slobodna Bosna," claiming that "Periskopi" is under the control of Milan Radojčić, the former vice president of the Serbian List and organizer of the terrorist attack in Banjskë on September 24, 2023. Additionally, it alleges that "Nacionale" received multimillion-dollar transactions from Serbia.
The article published by RTK, which prompted journalists and editors to distance themselves from it and led to several resignations, has continued to be defended by RTK's director, Rilind Gërvalla. There have been complaints against Gërvalla, alleging that he forcibly compelled the responsible editor to publish the news that claims that the aforementioned two portals in Kosovo are allegedly controlled and funded by Serbia.
"Slobodna Bosna" is known for distributing misinformation. For instance, fact-checking platforms like "Raskrinkavanje.ba" label "Slobodna Bosna" as a source of disinformation, noting that around 200 of its published articles are manipulated.
Jeton Musliu, the editor of RTK's central news edition, confirmed in a public statement that the link to the "Slobodna Bosna" article was sent to him by Rilind Gërvalla. Musliu emphasized that despite his insistence that the article should not be published, he faced continuous pressure from Gërvalla. "...When I say pressure, it's not done just by shouting!" he stated.
Rilind Gërvalla admitted to having sent the link to Musliu but denied exerting any pressure on him. "...I gave him the link, but I never told him to publish it, nor was there any pressure from me. The claims of pressure on the editors are fabrications and lies…" Gërvalla said.
Gërvalla also defended "Slobodna Bosna" in a Facebook post, calling it a serious media outlet, which is not accurate.
"RTK didn’t mention the media by name; this is a way to preserve the integrity of the professionals working in those media while fulfilling the professional obligation to inform the public," added Gërvalla.
However, this statement is also inaccurate, as the original RTK publication did mention "Periskopi" and "Nacionale" by name. Only after numerous reactions was the article updated to refer to them simply as portals.
Photo: The initial version of the RTK article mentioning "Nacionale" and "Periskopi"
Following this scandal, Jeton Musliu, the responsible editor, and Zana Spahiu, the acting General Director of RTK, resigned from their positions.
Meanwhile, the Supervisory Board of the public broadcaster held an extraordinary meeting. In a statement, the acting director informed the Board that a professional commission would be established to clarify the situation in detail and address the editorial responsibility for this oversight. However, Rilind Gërvalla has yet to take responsibility for the matter.
*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.”
