{"id":157277,"date":"2025-04-02T15:00:44","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T13:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/president-ksgov.net\/?p=157277"},"modified":"2025-04-03T14:14:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T12:14:37","slug":"president-osmanis-address-at-the-birn-kosovo-event-on-international-fact-checking-day-during-which-a-report-was-also-published-on-the-impact-of-hate-speech-and-disinformation-during-the-february-9t","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/president-ksgov.net\/en\/president-osmanis-address-at-the-birn-kosovo-event-on-international-fact-checking-day-during-which-a-report-was-also-published-on-the-impact-of-hate-speech-and-disinformation-during-the-february-9t\/","title":{"rendered":"President Osmani’s address at the BIRN Kosovo event on International Fact-Checking Day, during which a report was also published on the impact of hate speech and disinformation during the February 9th 2025 election campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thank you Jeta,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honourable Ambassador Orav,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honourable Ambassadors of amicable countries,<\/strong><\/p>\n

Honourable representatives of the media, institutions and civil society,<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Truth is democracy’s strongest weapon, it has always been, and remains so today. Therefore, when truth is attacked, freedom itself is attacked, the very democratic values \u200b\u200bon which our state was built with great effort and sacrifice are attacked.<\/p>\n

At a time when information circulates at an extraordinary speed, fact-checking is no longer just a duty of the journalists, but has become an obligation of the entire society, respectively a vital need for our state.<\/p>\n

This is because without the truth, there can never be a genuine democracy. Without the truth, our decision-making remains uncertain, trust between citizens and institutions weakens, and above all, the space for disinformation and manipulation expands, which can lead to extremely great risks.<\/p>\n

In the era in which we live, fake news can spread faster than the truth. Therefore, this is not only a challenge, but a real danger for the stability of our state, for our integrity as a state, for democracy but above all for national security.<\/p>\n

Precisely for this reason, fact-checking must become a daily standard, which each of us applies.<\/p>\n

Today, anyone can claim to be a journalist. The concept of citizen journalism exposes us to the risk of being constantly targeted by untruths.<\/p>\n

Civic journalism, aided by the exceptional\u00a0 technological development, including developments in AI, has made fact-checking more difficult and challenging than ever before. Anyone with a phone can publish something in an instant, without any editorial filter, without any professional standards and above all without even the minimum of professional ethics.<\/p>\n

Artificial intelligence, social media algorithms and fast communication platforms often give priority to sensationalism over truth. This has created a suitable terrain for disinformation, especially from malicious forces coming from outside our country, making it even easier to manipulate public opinion.<\/p>\n

We must not allow ourselves to be manipulated, because without the truth, we can never have a genuine democracy and a successful society.<\/p>\n

In the context of the changing global security architecture in the world, today disinformation is not simply a propaganda tool, but a weapon of hybrid warfare that aims to undermine legitimate institutions, weaken public trust and create uncertainty in decision-making, which, I return to, endanger the national security of our country.<\/p>\n

Therefore, when disinformation is directly related to the state and the main pillars of the state, it is no longer just an attack on certain individuals, but on the state itself and the pillars on which that state stands and on its own security.<\/p>\n

Such hybrid warfare is also greatly aided by hate speech, which is closely related to the failure to verify facts, since it often stems from disinformation and the deliberate manipulation of reality, and women are often the most attacked in this regard.<\/p>\n

The spread of disinformation creates a false perception. Such a situation is exploited by those who aim to destabilize, using a divisive discourse that incites hatred and violence.<\/p>\n

In this manner, the failure to verify facts is not only a challenge for journalism, but it is a catalyst that then creates social polarization and internal conflicts.<\/p>\n

Our state, together with the contribution of each one of you, is built on the values \u200b\u200bof democracy, truth, which as Jeta mentioned precisely because it was defended and said during the most difficult times of our history brought us freedom, but is also the result of the values \u200b\u200bof transparency. However, these values \u200b\u200bcannot be protected by institutions alone, but require collective responsibility and the work of each and every one.<\/p>\n

Therefore, today, more than ever, we must join forces. To work with professional media that serve the truth.<\/p>\n

In the context of state security, the failure to verify facts is not simply an ethical or professional problem of the media, but becomes a serious threat to the state.<\/p>\n

It is everyone\u2019s duty to defend the truth as a shield against these threats and destabilizing strategies, which aim to turn our state into a failed state.<\/p>\n

Foreign actors, especially Russia and Serbia, as you know, have actively promoted disinformation and divisive narratives to undermine credibility in democratic processes in Kosovo.<\/p>\n

Russian-backed media, such as Sputnik, RT, etc., have played a role in spreading disinformation about the electoral integrity of Kosovo and in stoking tensions in our region. Therefore, we need not only state vigilance, but also societal vigilance. We all need to be guardians of fact-checking. We must not stop verifying. Verification, verification and confirmation of verification, so that we do not fall prey to these malicious tendencies in any situation.<\/p>\n

We also need aware citizens, and everyone can contribute here through platforms like yours, so that they do not fall prey to misinformation, but seek out reliable sources and verify information before sharing it.<\/p>\n

Freedom of expression is one of the pillars of fundamental rights and freedoms, protected by the Constitution. However, it is not unlimited and it is not absolute, as our Constitution itself states, which indicates in which cases freedom of expression can be limited. It is not freedom of expression to call for murder, it is not freedom of expression to call for violence, it is not freedom of expression to demand that someone be killed with a bullet in the forehead, it is not freedom of expression to incite hatred, it is not freedom of expression to endanger national security based on disinformation, the national security of this state to which each of you has contributed, our common state, is not freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

Calling for murder is a crime, it is a criminal offense, not freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Calling for a woman to be raped because she begged, because she wanted a bullet in her forehead is a crime, it is incitement to kill another woman, it is not freedom of expression. Inciting hatred in any democratic state and inciting violence in any democratic state are not freedom of expression. They cannot be considered such in the Kosovar democracy either.<\/p>\n

Therefore, before we believe, before we distribute, before we act \u2013 let us verify and verify again.<\/p>\n

Let us not allow lies to become history, to become a reality presented to our citizens even though it is based on lies, and let misinformation determine our path forward.<\/p>\n

Whenever we talk about such great challenges, I am reminded of one of the greatest leaders of our continent, Vaclav Havel, one of the greatest supporters of Kosovo, who in his address to the European Parliament, says: Ultimately, the salvation of the human race will be found only in the human heart, only in the human heart. Technology may advance, but nothing can replace the humanity within us.<\/p>\n

Therefore, my call beyond verification is that we should not forget the greatest value that has kept us alive in the most difficult times, to protect this value at all costs, to protect, along with the verification of facts, the humanity within us.<\/p>\n

Thank you!<\/p>\n