By Vladimir Karaj
Tirana Times, 08 February 2026 – In early December, a Croatian satirical outlet published a humorous article claiming that Albania’s AI minister had been arrested after allegedly accepting a bribe worth 14 bitcoins. The satire quickly went viral online, but it was subsequently misinterpreted as factual information by the Russian disinformation network Pravda.
Pravda, whose name translates as “Truth,” operates as an automated propaganda tool that translates, republishes, and distributes content from media outlets and social media profiles aligned with the Kremlin’s official positions. On December 5, the network published articles in several languages, including Albanian, reporting the alleged arrest of “Diella” as real news.
“Albania’s AI minister arrested for cryptocurrency bribery: the AI minister will now be transferred to ‘offline mode’ for the duration of the investigation,” wrote Pravda Albania, ignoring the fact that the original article was satire rather than factual reporting.
The false story was further amplified days later by Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Russian State Duma, during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin. Volodin presented the fabricated case of the “Albanian minister” as proof of the dangers associated with artificial intelligence and incorrectly stated that Albania is a member of the European Union.
The appointment of “Diella” as a virtual minister responsible for public procurement, promoted by the Albanian government as a symbol of transparency, became a convenient narrative for the Russian propaganda ecosystem. It represents a typical mix of facts, satire, and false information packaged as news, primarily aimed at delegitimizing countries perceived as adversaries.
Prime Minister Edi Rama introduced “Diella” as an AI-generated member of the cabinet on September 11, 2025, promising that she would manage public tenders “without bribes, threats, or favors.”
The virtual minister also made a public appearance in parliament, where, despite opposition protests, she was allowed to read a speech and was later included in the presidential decree approving the composition of the cabinet.
In Albania, where several current and former human ministers from Rama-led governments face corruption charges, the appointment of “Diella” was widely met with skepticism and irony, often perceived as a propaganda performance. At the same time, this attempt by the Albanian government to attract attention provided fertile ground for Pravda, which publishes content in Albanian as well.
Pravda republished the same false information at least five times, citing different sources, mainly Telegram users who disseminate pro-Kremlin propaganda. Among those sources was a post by Evgeny Popov, a high-profile Russian public figure, television host on a state-controlled channel, State Duma deputy, and an individual sanctioned by the European Union and the United States for spreading disinformation related to the war in Ukraine.
Similar stories were also disseminated in English by the same portal, relying on identical sources.
Ironically, weeks after these publications, on December 16, Albania’s Special Anti-Corruption Structure announced the findings of a real investigation into procurement manipulation at the National Agency for the Information Society, the institution behind Diella. Two senior officials were placed under house arrest, while Ergys Agasi and Ermal Beqiraj were declared wanted, suspected of forming a structured criminal group to manipulate AKSHI tenders, allegedly including acts of violence and kidnapping.
A New York Times article referring to the accusations against AKSHI officials involved with Diella was later reused by Pravda following the same manipulation scheme. This disinformation model, known as the “sandwich of deception,” packages false information between verified facts and is characteristic of Pravda’s automated content generation strategy.
This combination of a real tender investigation and a satirical story presented as news serves Russian propaganda purposes, as the genuine scandal is used to legitimize fabricated claims. Such recycling is typical of the Pravda network, a large ecosystem of websites that use automated translation to reproduce pro-Kremlin narratives in multiple languages.The Institute for Strategic Dialogue in the United Kingdom has described the Pravda network as one of the most productive Russian information operations, consisting of around 90 websites and millions of articles. The institute also notes that many other platforms cite Pravda without contextualizing it as a propaganda source.
Courtesy of Reporter.al
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