Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said on Friday that the recent protest against a planned investment in Zvërnec was influenced by “brutal foreign interference,” widespread disinformation, and manipulated online content, while emphasizing that the underlying cause of public dissatisfaction is declining trust in state institutions.
Speaking during a joint meeting of the Socialist Party parliamentary group and the government cabinet, Rama said the demonstration was accompanied by extensive misinformation campaigns, including fake news and altered videos, but stressed that these factors were not the primary reason behind the protest.
“There was undoubtedly brutal foreign interference, countless instances of fake news, and manipulated videos,” Rama said, according to the Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATSH). “These were an important part of what happened, but they were not the essence of the protest.”
The Albanian prime minister argued that the events exposed a growing gap between the government’s presentation of facts and the way citizens perceived the situation.
“We had the facts at the top, while people on the ground had their own lived experience,” Rama said. “Our fact was that the Zvërnec investment concerns privately owned land, while their perception was that state land was being sold to foreigners. Our fact was that the project is still in the design phase, while their perception was that construction had already begun and that the project should be cancelled.”
Rama said examining alleged foreign interference is necessary to fully understand the protest, but maintained that the broader challenge lies in addressing citizens’ rising expectations and their negative experiences with public administration.
“Whether we like it or not, people expect more every day and are becoming less tolerant, especially because of their disappointing experiences with public administration,” he said.
According to Rama, when public trust in institutions declines, even verified facts are increasingly perceived as false, allowing disinformation to gain traction.
He also stressed that the protest cannot be understood without considering the influence of the digital space, where, according to him, misleading content and coordinated messaging significantly shaped public perceptions of the planned investment.
The protest in Zvërnec has sparked a wider debate in Albania over transparency, public communication, and the impact of online disinformation on public opinion.
