Birn-Kosovo
Reaction against the Disinformation Campaign by Vox Kosova Against KALLXO.com
The editorial team of KALLXO.com continues to face a coordinated campaign of defamatory and insulting attacks by individuals, politicians, and businesses seeking retaliation over our professional work.
As part of this campaign, on 29 July 2026, the Facebook page Vox Kosova, which has been sued for defamation on several occasions in the past, published content claiming that KALLXO.com had taken the allegation that discussions in Washington could result in the adoption of the Shenzhen model over from Russian media outlets.
Vox Kosova’s defamatory campaign is undoubtedly unfounded and aims to mislead the public.
Vox is attempting to manipulate public opinion by presenting a statement by Richard Grenell, the American diplomat, claiming that he was not referring to Shenzhen, but rather to Mini-Schengen.
First, Grenell made this clarification only in September 2020. Until then, all media had referred to it as Shenzhen, and we have not seen any reaction or correction from Grenell regarding the alleged misquotation. This is further demonstrated by the fact that the American media outlet that first published the story, as well as other credible media, continue to publish it as Shenzhen, not Schengen (see here, here, and here). Therefore, at the time the article was published on KALLXO.com, there had been no published correction stating that it was not referring to Shenzhen.
Vox Kosova published only this statement, without prior verification, consulting archival sources, and without establishing that the idea of Shenzhen had been mentioned by Mr Richard Grenell himself in the American media outlet Newsmax on 20 June 2020 (see: https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/richard-grenell-kosovo-serbia-peace/2020/06/22/id/973527/).
Following this statement in June 2020, a broad public discussion emerged in Kosovo regarding the Shenzhen model in relation to the Washington Agreement.
Based on this statement, several media outlets, including Albanian-language media, reported on this idea in the following days:
- 24.06.2020-https://klankosova.tv/grenell-propozon-mini-shenzhen-dhe-jo-mini-shengen-video1/ (arkiva)
- 23.06.2020-https://abcnews.al/grenell-takimi-ne-shba-mundesi-per-krijimin-e-zones-ekonomike-mes-kosoves-dhe-serbise (arkiva)
- 23.06.2020-https://buletiniekonomik.com/2020/06/grenelli-synon-krijimin-e-nje-zone-ekonomike-mes-kosoves-e-serbise/ (arkiva)
- 23.06.2020-https://top-channel.tv/2020/06/23/%E2%80%8Bgrenell-zona-mini-shenzhen-per-kosoven-dhe-serbine (arkiva
- 24.06.2020-https://www.koha.net/arberi/zyra-e-grenellit-sjep-detaje-per-idene-e-zones-ekonomike-si-te-shenzhenit-per-kosoven-e-serbine (arkiva)
- 23.06.2020-https://telegrafi.com/grenell-qellimi-eshte-te-krijohet-nje-zone-mini-shenzen-ndermjet-kosoves-dhe-serbise (arkiva)
Furthermore, media outlets such as Gazeta Express also published articles that did not cite any information sources, claiming that the business community in Kosovo had welcomed the idea of a Shenzhen-style economic zone (see:https://www.gazetaexpress.com/mirepritet-ideja-per-zonen-shenzen-mes-kosoves-dhe-serbise/ (arkiva))
That this proposal was on the negotiating table and that there had been agreement to discuss it at the time was also confirmed by President Hashim Thaçi himself (see: https://www.gazetaexpress.com/thaci-para-udhetimit-per-ne-washington-mund-te-kete-mini-shenzhen-por-jo-mini-schengen/). Thaçi further stated in that declaration that a Mini-Shenzhen could be established.
The editorial team of KALLXO.com confirms that the article we published, which presents arguments as to why a Mini-Shenzhen would not be beneficial for Kosovo, had not previously been published in Russian media.
KALLXO.com further clarifies that the published article identifies this only as one of the possible models that could be considered in negotiations and does not present it as a finalised or agreed outcome. The article explains in detail what this model entails, how it functions, and what the consequences for Kosovo would be if it were to be implemented.
KALLXO.com has sent a formal letter to the editorial team of Vox Kosova, requesting the urgent correction of the published content. At the same time, KALLXO.com will continue to pursue all available legal remedies to protect its professional work from ongoing attacks involving hate speech and disinformation.
