At the height of the events related to the Brussels dialogue and the efforts to find a solution to the license plate issue in the north of the country, we have seen efforts by certain individuals and groups on social networks to misinform the public. This is what happened with an attempt to misinform the public about what was a statement by the ambassador of the United States of America in Kosovo, Jeffrey M. Hovenier.
Lawyer Tomë Gashi, dated November 16, shared a photo on his Facebook account with the inscription "Kuku për ne", where he claims that the American ambassador in Kosovo, Hovenier, has stated that: "The opposition agrees more with Belgrade than with the decisions of the Government, So, this is how they make it difficult for us also the attitudes we have towards the government".
We have not found such a statement in any of the official forms of communication of the American embassy, which include: the official website of the embassy, the Facebook page and the Twitter account. In addition, the American ambassador, Hovenier, had not stated such a thing even in any interview for the media of Kosovo or the region.
After numerous media reactions, lawyer Gashi deleted the post. But the post has already been shared by dozens of other people through his Facebook account.
The Kosovar media that immediately reacted to Gashi's post, describing it as disinformation, are:
The photo with the disinformation text that was shared by Lawyer Gashi was first published by the Facebook groups - "me VETËVENDOSJEN-n” and "Diaspora Vetëvendosje."
This post is still public and so far has over 100 shares, continuing to misinform the public.
*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.”
