Original article (in Montenegrin) was published on 13/2/2024; Author: Darvin Murić
Media outlets frequently engage in speculation about the personal lives of Montenegrin politicians. Recently, however, some media outlets have taken this a step further, with reports claiming that Vasilije Čarapić, a Member of Parliament for Europe Now, has relocated from Montenegro to the United States.
“Head of the Europe Now parliamentary group ‘hit the road’ and moved to the US,” was the headline on the Alo online portal, while the newly established Infomonte portal published the same information, albeit under a different headline.
“Unseen before: Čarapić moved to the US, Europe Now Movement barely breathing,” was the headline published on Infomonte.
“Head of the Europe Now parliamentary club, Vasilije Čarapić, has been in the US for several months now, where he plans to stay for an extended period. Several sources from Europe Now confirmed this for the Aloonline.me portal. The situation of one of the largest parliamentary clubs in the Parliament of Montenegro serves as a stark illustration of Montenegro’s unique political climate. Čarapić’s approach to his role and his political party has also disappointed some MPs within this political entity, who describe such behavior as childish and unprofessional. In late January, under pressure from fellow MPs and Europe Now leaders, Čarapić briefly returned to Montenegro to attend parliamentary sessions during the election of the new supreme prosecutor, Milorad Marković, after which he returned to the US,” reads the article from Alo.
The Infomonte portal published an article identical to one previously mentioned, but without a timestamp, making it impossible to determine the original source of the information.
The Raskrinkavanje team reached out to the head of the Europe Now parliamentary club, who debunked the story as fake news. “My wife is American, and I was visiting my in-laws for about ten days. I do not reside in the US; I live in Montenegro and fulfill my duties regularly and properly,” Čarapić told Raskrinkavanje. He also mentioned that he was in the parliament at the time of the conversation.
On the day the article was released, as evidenced by the YouTube channel of the Parliament of Montenegro, Čarapić was present within the parliamentary building, serving in his capacity as the co-chair of the comprehensive electoral reform committee.
Čarapić also stated to Raskrinkavanje that the claims about anyone from Europe Now disclosing information regarding his supposed relocation are unfounded.
Considering Čarapić’s confirmed presence in Montenegro, and his presence in the country at the time the articles alleging his departure to the US were published on the Alo and Infomonte portals, we categorize these reports as fake news.
This classification is applied to original media content (entirely produced by the publishing outlet) that includes factually incorrect assertions or information. Content labeled as fake news can be definitively identified as having been crafted and spread with the intention to mislead the public, that is, to present wholly inaccurate information as truth.