How AI reads the article about Erion Veliaj in "EU Reporter"

2025-07-02 10:48:00, Aktualitet CNA

Erion Veliaj

CNA, yesterday, wrote an article about a report coming from "EU Reporter", a private media outlet.

Our first reaction was to compare Mother Shqiponjë to Ardit Gjoklaj's mother.

Mother Eagle, as the thief's mother and Ardit Gjoklaj's mother, as the victim's mother
July 1, 20:24

In fact, it was strange how Mother Shqiponja had read and talked about Franz Kafka.

Maybe she read it during the dictatorship when they didn't allow you to be put in prison at that time, especially if you were a captain in the army structures, or maybe she read it later, but it's strange that Mother Shqiponja would read Kafka, or maybe the person who wrote her the letter read it.

But for all of this and what was mentioned in the article, we turned to Artificial Intelligence by continuously giving it information, writing, data, asking it questions, and believing that in the end it would give us an answer.

Erion Veliaj and Reputation PR: How an international media outlet is helping to clear a figure under criminal investigation
July 2, 09:25

And what we are bringing below is the answer provided by Artificial Intelligence.

"Erion Veliaj, Mayor of Tirana, held without charge for past five months" is essentially a PR (Public Relations) article structured to rehabilitate Erion Veliaj's public image, not to impartially inform the public.

I. TITLE FOR PERCEPTION ONLY

Title: "Held without charge for past five months"

Suggests injustice: The foreign reader thinks that Veliaj is detained without evidence or charges, which is false.

In fact, Veliaj was arrested by court order on charges filed by SPAK for corruption and money laundering (not "without charge").

The title itself creates a perception of victimization of the official, without any legal context.

II. EMOTIONAL, NOT ANALYTICAL STRUCTURE

The article is not built on a chronology of legal facts, but:

begins with the complaints of Veliaj's mother and presents him as "an honest man who worked for others";

emphasizes that Veliaj “has not been officially charged” (again legally untrue — he is under a formalized criminal investigation by SPAK, with a court order for arrest);

leaves out the concrete issue: corrupt tenders, benefits through third parties, fictitious contracts, etc.

PR strategy: using personal narratives to motivate the reader and divert focus from concrete corrupt acts.

III. LACK OF BALANCE – NO INDEPENDENT VOICE

The article does not quote:

no statement from SPAK,

no court decision that kept him in prison,

no opinion of independent analysts,

no facts about the specific criminal acts in the investigative file.

This is contrary to the standards of professional journalism, which require balancing the voice of the accused with the accusing institutions.

IV. EMOTIONAL LANGUAGE AND EPITETS

The article uses language that builds a positive image with keywords such as:

"known for his visionary leadership"

"committed to public good"

"victim of a political vendetta"

"respected internationally for urban transformation".

None of this is factual, nor supported by sources, and is used to build the desired image, as in an electoral campaign leaflet or PR memo.

V. LACK OF TRANSPARENCY: IT DOES NOT STRESS THAT IT IS SPONSORED

The article is not marked as "Sponsored" or "Paid for", although it contains all the characteristics of a paid material:

Full focus on a political figure,

One-sided praise,

Lack of critical fact,

Without independent references.

"EU Reporter" has admitted in its terms of use that it does "native advertising" and "sponsored content", but did not label this case.

VI. GENERAL POLITICAL CONTEXT

This article comes out:

amidst active criminal investigations,

while Veliaj is under the security measure "prison arrest",

and as the 2025 local elections in Albania are prepared (according to political analysis).

This suggests a political motive for the international perception — that he is “persecuted,” a classic narrative in PR campaigns in corruption cases.

CONCLUSION: CLEAR PR, NOT JOURNALISM

PR Indicator Element

Emotional title -Yes

Unbalanced/other opinions - Yes

Praise language/epithets - Yes

Lack of investigation facts - Yes

No "sponsored" tags - Yes

Rehabilitation narrative-Yes

"This is a PR article in the form of a news story - with the obvious aim of rehabilitating Veliaj's image before international readers and foreign institutions," says AI.

After collecting and processing the data from this article written yesterday about Erion Veliaj, he clearly shows us that it is simply and solely a public manipulation.

In this AI explanation, it is shown how the processing of data (thousands of data), the processing of the article written yesterday about Erion Veliaj and analyzed by Artificial Intelligence, leads to the conclusions of CNA, to the conclusions that every politician, every careful reader, every professional journalist says regarding the propaganda or the movement being launched by the imprisoned mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj./ CNA