Kurti Accuses Invisible Media Financing of Manipulating Citizens, Claims It Comes from Kosovo’s “Enemies”

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti has accused hidden media financing of manipulating citizens and claimed these efforts are orchestrated by Kosovo’s “enemies,” asserting that they “have their agents within Kosovo itself.” His statements during a parliamentary session immediately drew criticism from media associations and opposition politicians.

At today’s session in the Kosovo Assembly, the agenda included, among other items, the formation of ad hoc committees to select candidates for one member of the Independent Media Commission, a committee to select three members from the Albanian community and two from non-majority communities for the Independent Media Commission, and an ad hoc committee to select six members from the Albanian community, one from the Serbian community, and one from non-majority communities for the Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK) Board. It remains unclear whether these proposals were adopted, as reports from the session have been contradictory.

Nearly a year ago, the Constitutional Court annulled the law on the Independent Media Commission. The law, passed during the previous mandate of Kurti’s Self-Determination government, faced sharp criticism from media professionals for provisions considered a direct attempt to pressure the media and curtail freedom of expression, particularly targeting the Independent Media Commission.

Following a visit to Kosovo on March 26, an international media freedom mission reported a deterioration in media freedom in Kosovo since 2023, citing the Self-Determination government as the main factor.

„Adoption of the media law in parliament – later declared unconstitutional – which would have increased political control over the Independent Media Commission (IMC), underfunding and political pressure on RTK, as well as ongoing verbal attacks and discrediting of journalists by ruling party politicians, are the main factors in this assessment,“ the delegation stated.

Reporters Without Borders called for urgent political action, urging Kurti to establish a working group to address media freedom and implement the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA).

Kurti: Manipulation Comes from Kosovo’s “Enemies”

During the session, Kurti addressed MPs, reiterating his accusations against the media.

„Democracy does not survive on citizens’ votes alone, but also on the words they speak. And those words must be free to be relevant. But speech cannot be free if it is captive to hidden interests. When money enters invisibly, it does not just buy media space, it buys influence, shapes narratives, and ultimately distorts citizens’ perception,“ he said.

Kurti stressed that a misinformed citizen is not free but manipulated, claiming that, according to reports:

„The manipulation comes from our ‘enemies’ of Kosovo, who unfortunately also find their way inside our country.“

While asserting he has no interest in restricting the media and wants them to be “stronger,” “more independent,” “more investigative,” and “more critical,” he emphasized:

„Media independence cannot be built on the secrecy of financing slander and misinformation.“

He further noted that editorial freedom must be paired with transparency, and citizens should know who is informing them. Media, he argued, must be held as accountable as any other business when it comes to finances and sources of funds:

„If every other business is accountable for its finances and sources, media must be held to the same standard. The law on the Council for Independent Media exists not to control media, but to protect it from capture. Censorship is a barrier to truthful reporting, not to false news with dubious financing. A democracy that fails to recognize this risk in time risks losing its freedom, just as the European Union acted when it banned Russian portals,“ Kurti said

„In former dictatorships, outcomes were controlled; today, the risk is that oligarchs control the premises to manipulate outcomes. Interest groups today do not threaten freedom of expression; they control the media economy, hence no intervention in free expression is necessary.“