Klodiana Kapo
For several weeks, Faktoje.al has been publishing the ‘Manual Against Russian Disinformation in Albania,‘ which aims to explain verification techniques as well as the context of the war. This manual highlights the specific issues within Albanian media related to Russian disinformation and offers methods to avoid them. It includes real examples from Albanian media, demonstrating how a student or journalist can verify videos, photos, headlines, and more.
One of the examples in the manual is an article from the newspaper Tema, which uses Euronews as its primary source. The photo used in the article is unrelated to the news and dates back to 2017. This example illustrates how misinformation or disinformation can occur through the misuse of images, and more importantly, how photos can be verified—essential elements of evidence and fact-checking in journalism.
To clarify any potential misunderstandings or ambiguities, Faktoje provides the following explanation to publisher Mero Baze.
In an article published on September 9, 2024, Mr. Baze remarked that ‘the manual in question referenced the newspaper Tema for an exaggerated headline, following its publication of an article titled ‘Serbia is training children for war.’ The ‘verification’ conducted by the NGO, which cited a study from U.S. intelligence, indicated that there was no threat of war in the region; thus, this news was considered exaggerated, and the Tema newspaper logo was used as a source. Below is the link to this article and the disinformation attributed to Faktoje.al, which cites the newspaper Tema as the source.
https://www.gazetatema.net/rajoni/serbia-trajnon-femijet-per-lufte-i389507
In the Faktoje manual, which includes this publication as an instance of news lacking factual basis and featuring a photograph that is five years old, it is stated as follows:
‘A similar image was published on May 13, 2023, by the Albanian newspaper Tema with the title: ‘Serbia is training child soldiers.’ The original post refers to a video by a security expert on Twitter (now known as platform X) following the incident where a 13-year-old tragically killed eight children at a school in Belgrade. The expert highlighted that this situation was influenced by children’s training in the use of weapons. Faktoje verified the post to determine if it is true that children in Serbia are being trained by Russian forces. A reverse image search on Google revealed that the photo dates back five years.’
Video e fëmijëve serbë që stërviten nga ushtarakët rusët daton 5 vite më parë
The manual does not indicate that the verification related to this article relied on a U.S. intelligence study or that the headline is exaggerated.
Instead, it presents this case as an example of how several portals—including Tema (see Faktoje’s article here: https://faktoje.al/31949-2/)—published the news with an illustrative photo for the title ‘Serbia is training child soldiers.’
The manual emphasizes that a ‘Google Reverse Image’ search showed the photo is five years old. Additionally, the information was validated by interviewing one of the news sources—the security expert referenced in Faktoje’s article.
The spread of unverified or unfounded news is equally harmful as its creation or writing.
‘It is even more ridiculous that the news is entirely pro-Ukrainian rather than pro-Russian. Thus, it could have accused the news producer of being overly optimistic about Ukraine, presenting an unbalanced view, or being excessively partisan, but not of being a Russian incursion into the news. The article is completely against Russia and clearly favors Ukraine. This shows that they do not understand what they are reading and instead write what they are dictated to for personal or political reasons.’ – Tema
In relation to this statement, the implications are unfounded as the manual does not include such a statement. To clarify, these comments refer to a different news article cited by Faktoje and referenced in the anti-disinformation manual concerning the ODNI report, where the information was also taken out of context.
https://faktoje.al/raporti-i-inteligjences-amerikane-nuk- parashikoi-lufte-ne-ballkan/
Faktoje is an independent media organization dedicated to fact-checking based on international methodologies. It enables individuals to verify or explore official evidence through its articles. Supported by international donors, Faktoje adheres to global standards and the ethical principles that media outlets should uphold. It is a new media platform comprised of professional journalists, whose articles have been republished multiple times by the Tema newspaper.
