Coordinated copyright attacks target around 100 Albanian activists, journalists and news organisations
📅 Date: August and September 2026
📍 Region: Albania
📱 Platforms: Instagram, Facebook and TikTok
🔗 Cases: Around 100 verified accounts targeted, with the true number potentially reaching several hundred
Since late August 2026, Repro Uncensored has documented around 100 cases involving the coordinated targeting of Albanian activists, journalists, civic platforms, political figures and major news organisations.
Many of those affected were sharing information about the Flamingo Revolution, reporting on public protests or participating in wider public interest discussions about democracy, development and government accountability in Albania.
The attacks relied heavily on repeated copyright complaints and mass reporting. In many cases, accounts received multiple complaints in a short period before content was removed or the entire account was disabled. Replacement accounts were also targeted, while others experienced shadowbanning, restrictions on collaborations and live broadcasts, and repeated identity verification loops.
Major news and civic platforms were affected, including Euronews Albania, Citizen Albania, Piranjat News, Lolita Albania and Studentët Denoncojnë. TikTok also permanently banned the news account @zeri_al, which had more than 200,000 followers. Political figures, activists and journalists, including MP Agron Shehaj and Arjan Koçi, were also targeted.
Evidence submitted to Repro Uncensored indicates that at least one person responsible for filing copyright complaints was paid $1,800 in cryptocurrency. The scale, speed and repetition of the complaints, together with the targeting of replacement accounts, reveal a consistent pattern of coordinated activity. Repro Uncensored continues to investigate who organised and financed these attacks. Government involvement has not been independently established.
Some accounts, including Euronews Albania, were restored following escalations. However, other accounts remain disabled or restricted, and affected individuals continue to report new attacks.
These cases demonstrate how platform reporting systems can be weaponised to silence public interest speech. When repeated complaints can remove activists, journalists and major news organisations before ownership or authenticity is properly verified, platform enforcement becomes part of the machinery of censorship.
The consequences extend far beyond individual accounts. These pages collectively reach millions of people and provide access to news, political information and documentation of public protests. Their removal limits press freedom, civic participation and the ability of communities to organise and participate in democratic life.
Repro Uncensored brought the cases to the attention of the European Parliament together with MEP Alexandra Geese. More than 30 Members of the European Parliament subsequently submitted a written question asking the European Commission to examine the manipulation of Meta’s reporting systems and whether the company is meeting its obligations under the Digital Services Act.
The attacks and the growing calls for an investigation have since been covered by POLITICO and WIRED, bringing international attention to the weaponisation of Meta’s copyright enforcement systems against Albanian protesters, journalists and civic voices.
The Albania cases expose a fundamental weakness in platform governance. Systems intended to protect copyright holders can be exploited by coordinated actors to suppress lawful speech, while affected users are left with opaque decisions and ineffective appeal mechanisms.
Platforms must urgently restore wrongfully removed accounts, preserve evidence connected to the complaints, provide meaningful human review and investigate the actors coordinating and financing these attacks. The European Commission must also examine whether platforms have adequate safeguards to prevent reporting systems from being turned into tools of political censorship.
Take Action
➡️ Read and share the coverage: Read the investigations by POLITICO and WIRED, and help bring greater international attention to the targeting of Albanian activists, journalists and news organisations.
➡️ Demand restoration and human review: Meta and TikTok must restore wrongfully removed accounts and provide meaningful review of enforcement decisions.
➡️ Demand an investigation: Platforms must investigate coordinated and paid reporting, preserve relevant records and prevent the repeated targeting of replacement accounts.
➡️ Defend press freedom and civic space: Share these cases and support the activists, journalists and independent media organisations protecting access to information and democratic participation in Albania.
➡️ Call for EU scrutiny: Ask the European Commission to examine whether platforms are meeting their obligations under the Digital Services Act and adequately addressing the systemic risks created by the weaponisation of their reporting systems.
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