FLASH NEWS
The photo of Greek buses for the June 1 protest was generated with AI
2026-06-02 20:49:48 / AKTUALITET
Since the evening of June 1, Albanian social networks have been filled with a photograph showing a line of buses near a border crossing, accompanied by the claim that it was Greek protesters entering Albania to participate in the protest against the tourism project in Pishe Poro-Narte.
The photo began circulating immediately after the protest held in Tirana, where thousands of citizens gathered for the second time on the "Martyrs of the Nation" boulevard to oppose the project in Zvërnec.
Verification conducted by Faktoje shows that the photo is not real. To confirm its origin, Faktoje used OpenAI's official verification tool , which identifies images created with artificial intelligence through the presence of SynthID technology.
The result confirmed that the photo contains a SynthID trace originating from OpenAI, indicating that the image was generated with artificial intelligence.
SynthID is designed to survive common image modifications, such as cropping, color changes, screen captures, or file compression, making it possible to trace the origin of the generated content.
Beyond technical verification, the photo also displays some typical elements of AI-generated content, such as blurred faces in the crowd, almost identical buses, unusually worded text on banners, and an overly neat composition of the scene.
These characteristics are often present in artificially created images and constitute additional signals that raise doubts about its authenticity.
The photo was first shown during a television debate on the evening of June 1. On a private television station, analyst Artur Meçe claimed to be showing a photo from Kakavija, which he said showed buses organized by the Greek state to bring protesters to Albania.
"This is today's protest. This is today's photo," Meçe declared during the show.
Subsequently, the claim spread on social networks and was also published by several Albanian portals, which referred to Greek media reports.
In fact, the Greek newspaper “Kathimerini” published an article on June 1 regarding the protest held on May 30 in Zvërnec. The article by journalist Yannis Papadopoulos was published at 11:24 and mentioned that two buses had left Athens for the Saturday protest in Zvërnec, while other participants had traveled in their own vehicles.
So, "Kathimerini's" reporting had no connection to the June 1 protest in Tirana and was not accompanied by any photographs of buses at the border.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Edi Rama presented the project as a transformative opportunity for Albania's economy, tourism and image, while he saw the opposition as politically motivated or incited from abroad, including Greece.
Erion Tase, from the Academy of Political Studies, tells Faktoje that this case illustrates how artificial intelligence can be used to spread false narratives.
"This is a case where artificial intelligence is used to manipulate public opinion and reinforce certain beliefs. In this case, the element of tensions between neighbors, Albania and Greece, is also being exploited, feeding the narrative that the protests are organized from abroad and do not represent real concerns of Albanian citizens," says Tase.
According to him, the case of the Greek buses resembles other recent cases where AI-generated photos have been used to support false claims.
"These cases should make us more careful about what we see online. Artificial intelligence has made it much easier to create convincing materials, so citizens should rely on reliable sources of information and not just on content circulating on social networks ," he adds.
Communication and media lecturer Erlis Çela also sees the case as a typical example of the use of artificial intelligence to distort public debate.
"The spread of AI-generated photos as real evidence risks distorting public debate by replacing facts with fabricated perceptions. It has already been proven that these images not only aim to misinform, but also to influence the way citizens interpret an event or a cause," Çela tells Faktoje.
According to him, the biggest concern in this case is related to the narrative that is sought to be built around the protest.
"These images can be used to discredit causes, individuals or social groups and to polarize public opinion. The case in question attempts to feed a narrative that presents the protest against the development project in the Zvërnec area as a movement supported or sponsored by external factors, while also giving it nationalist overtones."
Çela believes that Albanian society remains unprepared to deal with disinformation aided by artificial intelligence. Therefore, according to him, greater commitment is needed both in educating the public and in strengthening the capacities of professional media.
"There is an urgent need to increase initiatives for education on artificial intelligence and the media. On the other hand, more work is needed with the community of journalists and professional media, not only to unmask false content, but also to explain the manipulative mechanisms and the goals that are intended to be achieved through the use of AI ," concludes Çela. / Faktoje.al
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