A Solution-Oriented Approach to Combatting Disinformation as a Fuel to Ethno-Political Radicalization

Disinformation in Kosovo is not incidental but deliberately manufactured by domestic and foreign actors alike. Through tailored, divisionist narratives, hostile propaganda, and the amplification of historic grievances, disinformation exacerbates divisions between communities in Kosovo, especially ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs. Further, it radicalizes public opinion and undermines the Normalization Dialogue with Serbia. In September 2025, KCSS published a report on How Disinformation Fuels Ethno-Political Radicalization, authored by Paçarizi, Ilazi and Pallasch, developed under the DISRUPT project. The study draws on a mixed methodological approach, combining social media monitoring, interviews with civil society actors and case studies of key incidents to explore how strategically engineered falsehoods undermine trust, polarize communities, and harden ethnic identities. The following points critically mark feasible steps towards combatting disinformation, based on the findings of the 2025 report.

Pia-K. Pallasch is a research intern at the Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS). She recently graduated with a B.Sc. in Global Studies from Maastricht University.