Kallxo.com Premieres Documentary on Russian Disinformation Following Ukraine Invasion

On the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Albanian media watchdog Kallxo.com unveiled a revealing documentary that exposes how Russian disinformation has infiltrated Albanian-language media. The film, titled “Russian Disinformation after the Invasion of Ukraine,” is the result of six months of meticulous monitoring of war coverage and propaganda patterns.

The documentary presents compelling evidence of how pro-Kremlin narratives have penetrated Kosovo’s media landscape since the invasion began in February 2022. Using statistical data and concrete examples, it demonstrates how content from Kremlin-linked sources has been systematically translated, edited, and widely distributed to Albanian-speaking audiences under the guise of legitimate news.

Jeta Xharra, Executive Director of BIRN Kosovo, emphasized that the premiere serves dual purposes—commemorating the war’s victims while mobilizing resistance against information warfare.

“While remembering the innocent people killed and the hundreds of thousands of refugees forced to flee their homes, through such activities we aim to become an obstacle to a shared evil that originates in the offices of the Kremlin,” Xharra said during the launch event.

The documentary highlights a particularly concerning trend: how Kosovo itself became a tool in Russia’s information war. According to Xharra, “Kosovo was instrumentalized and used to justify Russian action in Ukraine. Attempts were made to use a completely untrue narrative about what happened in Kosovo to justify actions in Ukraine.”

This film marks the fifth installment in BIRN’s ongoing series of publications examining media manipulation and represents part of a broader effort to safeguard media integrity in the region. The investigation has not come without consequences, with Xharra noting that their work documenting these influence operations has exposed BIRN to “orchestrated attacks.”

Ukrainian journalist Iryna Synelnyk, currently participating in Kosovo’s Journalist-in-Residence program, offered a unique perspective at the event. Having arrived in Prishtina in July 2022, she shared a startling realization about her own preconceptions.

“When I arrived in Prishtina, I realized that much of the information I had previously encountered about Kosovo stemmed from Russian and Serbian propaganda,” Synelnyk admitted. Drawing parallels between conflicts, she added, “What Serbia did in Kosovo 25 years ago, Russia is doing in Ukraine now. It is important to understand how Russian propaganda works.”

The documentary’s findings are particularly significant for Kosovo, where media literacy faces ongoing challenges and the information ecosystem remains vulnerable to external influence campaigns. The systematic spread of pro-Russian narratives threatens to undermine Kosovo’s democratic institutions by distorting public discourse around the Ukraine conflict and international relations more broadly.

Media experts note that the Balkans have become a key battleground in Russia’s global information strategy, with Kosovo representing a particular focus due to its historical relationship with Serbia, Russia’s traditional ally in the region. The documentary helps illustrate how these geopolitical tensions manifest in the information space.

The investigation contributes to a growing body of evidence showing how disinformation networks operate across linguistic and national boundaries, adapting their messaging to exploit local contexts and historical grievances.

Produced under the Media Integrity and Disinformation Watch project with support from the British Embassy in Kosovo, the documentary serves as both a warning and a resource for journalists, policymakers, and citizens seeking to navigate an increasingly complex information landscape.

As the war in Ukraine continues, the documentary underscores the critical importance of media integrity, fact-checking, and information resilience as fundamental components of democratic society—particularly in regions with recent histories of conflict like Kosovo.