Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 24/11/2021
The Montenegrin public recently became aware of the fake Facebook profile of the Metropolitan of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church – Mihailo, after this fake profile spread a series of false claims, some of which went viral after regional websites “caught” them.
After we uncovered media articles whose source was a post from a fake profile, claiming that Mihailo married a gay couple, a new fake post arrived from the same account.
We have the opportunity to read again about the alleged gay couple whose wedding ceremony was officiated by the Metropolitan Mihailo.
“Dear worshippers of our NVO of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church, I would like to inform you that Slavko from Cetinje and Emran from Rozaje got married in our MOC. We need to be tolerant of LGBTQ couples and accept differences in sexual orientation and instincts. Love is love and it always overcomes hatred. I wish Slavko and Emran a long life together and a lot of love in their marriage. May God give you many children to grow up in this wonderful family. May God guide you through a life of love together. Amen. Mashallah. Please share this wonderful post to let the world see our tolerance”, states the post featuring a photo of a gay couple getting married.
We see the Metropolitan of the MOC, Mihailo, standing between the two young men in the photo. The photo looks very credible so that few would suspect that it was photoshopped.
However, we found the original by a detailed search of the photo. On the site called KerryMorgan, which belongs to the photographer of the same name, we come across a photo album of a wedding in France. The album features the previously mentioned photo of two men getting married. However, we do not notice the Metropolitan of the MOC, Mihailo, in that picture, but there is an official from the Civil Registry instead.
The official Instagram page of the Montenegrin Orthodox Church also refuted the Facebook post about the alleged gay couple Slavko and Emran, and Mihailo as their wedding officiant.
“Just as a profile is fake, so is a post, and a photo is a product of photomontage. If you have this profile among your friends on FB, we recommend that you remove it. Our brothers who pray to the same god are obviously ready to create the environment they need with lies. They do not use the truth because it is not in their favor”, the MOC said in a statement.
Having in mind the statement coming from the MOC, as well as the undoubtedly false but professionally photoshopped image of the Metropolitan “marrying a gay couple”, we conclude that the above-mentioned Facebook post is just another in a series of those coming from the controversial profile, to discredit the MOC and its clergy with untrue and false content.
Although the page’s posts try to force satire, such posts on Facebook, intentionally or not, often end up in the tabloids, which we have witnessed recently.
Due to all that, the Facebook post from the profile of Mihailo Miras Dedeic received the rating for fake news.
The “fake news” rating is given to the original media report (entirely produced by the media that published it) that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is assessed as fake news can be reliably established to have been created and disseminated to misinform the public, that is, to present a claim that is completely false as a fact.