Faktoje.al: A misleading project that squanders donor funds

By Mero Baze

This morning, I was told that an NGO named Faktoje.al has released a manual intended to guide the fight against misinformation in online media. However, the manual has been described as superficial and laughable by some observers, who question the handling of donor funds for media in Albania.

The online realm is indeed filled with risks of misinformation, and TemA newspaper is not exempt from these issues. The practice of reposting news from one portal to another exacerbates these risks, and many are aware that they can easily fall victim to fake news. This is an ongoing issue.

There are numerous instances that can be observed firsthand, without requiring detailed analysis from these organisations. Indeed, there have been humorous situations where journalists from TemA republished news articles from other portals that were originally published by TemA itself. They modified and altered these articles and then presented them as new. Essentially, they were republishing their own content. This reflects a broader issue driven by the pressures of clicks, a lack of professional education, and the inability to discern the truth.

However, the manual in question has come under fire for other reasons. It cited TemA for an exaggerated headline after publishing an article titled “Serbia is training children for war.” Faktoje.al's "verification," referring to a U.S. intelligence study, claimed that there is no risk of war in the region and labelled the news as exaggerated, while describing TemA as the source of the news.

For reference, here is the link to the news article and Faktoje.al's misinformation: https://www.gazetatema.net/rajoni/serbia-trajnon-femijet-per-lufte-i389507

Contrary to the claims, the news was actually from Euronews Albania and Euronews was cited as being the source. The statement was made by a security expert from Kosovo, well-known in the field. The illustration is also theirs and has been published by numerous other portals.

Even more ridiculous is the fact that the news is biased in favor of Ukraine rather than Russia. They could have criticized the article for being overly optimistic, unbalanced, or too partisan. However, it is inaccurate to claim it was a product of Russian influence. The piece is actually anti-Russian and clearly biased toward Ukraine. This shows that they don’t even understand what they are reading but are instead writing what is dictated to them for personal or political reasons.

As one of the many portals that republished the news, “without delving deeper,” why is TemA cited in this manner? It suggests a political or personal agenda, which is not surprising.

I asked around about the head of the NGO, who is known by the surname Kapo, which evokes the Soviet era in Albania. That name doesn’t ring any bells for me, so I won’t bother making any more inquiries about her.

Regarding the donors, I am not naming who the other donors are to avoid any possible errors and perhaps help them secure other projects on 'disinformation.'

To add a touch of humour to this situation, it would have been more serious if Faktoje.al had cited Euronews Albania, the actual source of the news. They could have concocted a conspiracy theory about connections between the Greek owner of Euronews Albania and the Russian owner of Euronews.

This would have made for a worthy analysis in the humour section of our newspaper, leading to more serious conclusions from this seemingly ridiculous NGO.

While addressing the corrupt world of NGOs and their donors in Albania is challenging, serious issues such as Russian influence in the Balkans or support for the war in Ukraine require genuine seriousness, substance, and professional culture in report writing.

The manual published today is an example of disinformation from its project authors. The only way to correct this is for another NGO to find donors to fact-check Faktoje.al's claims, adding another layer of scrutiny to this serious issue, which now seems more humorous than reflective. We're doing this out of respect for Western taxpayers’ money, which is being wasted on such trivial matters, rather than being properly allocated to the project’s authors.

It is regrettable that the funds could not have been used to train journalists to be more qualified and serious. As it stands, the project in question falls far short of such standards.

I have not encountered a more misleading piece than this manual against misinformation.