For those suddenly outraged by the negative reviews against Erebara

A few figures connected to foreign-funded NGOs and media outlets in Albania have jumped into action. They are writing fake positive reviews to protect Gjergj Erebara. He is one of the protest leaders who openly called for mob attacks against the tourism sector, working journalists, and any politician who disagrees with him.

It is comical watching his circle write these glowing reviews and hand them out to activists, who suddenly act like public intellectuals. They even wrote a statement for a female lawmaker from the northern Dukagjin mountains—written entirely in the southern "Tosk" dialect. Let's hope she actually understood what she posted.

This is an organized campaign to protect a bully who attacks political and economic freedom in our country. Gjergj Erebara—who treats the media outlet BIRN like his own family business—did not just order a smear campaign against businesses, journalists, and politicians. He actually enjoys the damage he causes.

In a recent online post, he mocked the Prime Minister, writing: "Hey Rama, where are your reviews now?" He was bragging that Google had not yet restored the rating of a business attacked by his online mob. This proves a vital point. He is not just someone who got carried away fighting oligarchs. He is a bully who celebrated while his targets fought to survive.

Once local businesses defeated these cyber-attacks—thanks to Google exposing the fake review scheme—Erebara changed his strategy. He started playing the victim over his conflicts with politicians and journalists. For example, he posted a fake graphic targeting lawmaker Taulant Balla. When Balla publicly exposed it as a lie, Erebara complained that he was being attacked. Now, to prove he is not a liar, he has called for help from every corrupt media NGO in Albania and every colleague who shares his grant money.

Let’s be very clear: nobody is criticizing Erebara for being a journalist. He is being criticized as a political activist who chose to lead attacks against local businesses, fellow journalists, and politicians.

When you lead an online mob and urge people to leave fake reviews on local businesses, you cannot play the victim when people write negative opinions about you. That is the least they can do. A man handing out fake negative reviews should have the decency to accept a few honest ones about himself.

His online mob sat on couches in Tirana to leave fake one-star reviews for beach resorts in Velipoja and Dhërmi. But the negative reviews about Erebara come from people who watch his real actions every day. These reviews are not fake.

The claim that he should be protected because he is a "journalist" is just as absurd. Nobody is attacking his journalism, because he has not produced any work worth bragging about—or even worth attacking. A real working journalist does not lose sleep over criticism or verbal threats. If a reporter in Albania has never faced pressure or attacks over their work, they have not spent a single minute being a real journalist.

Just today, Erebara’s closest ally in the protest—the man running the online smear campaign against working journalists—published an article about me. He listed different ways he could murder me, and described how much pleasure it would give him.

This is not the first time I have dealt with the writings of maniacs in my 35 years as a journalist. Over the years, my car has been shot with bullets and set on fire. I have been ambushed by gunmen on the street. None of it has ever intimidated me or stopped my work. Anyone who wants to survive as a journalist in Albania—or anywhere else in the world—must be ready for real bullets, not just angry insults.

The hypocrisy is unbelievable. The same bullies standing beside Erebara—the ones publishing fantasies about murdering me—are the exact same people crying about negative reviews of Erebara. Look at these corrupt media NGOs. They complain when a politician criticizes Erebara’s fake graphics. Yet they work hand-in-hand with thugs who issue violent death threats against a journalist just for disagreeing with their protest.

So here is my challenge to them: take that murder fantasy written about me today by Erebara’s friends. Cross out my name, write in Erebara’s name, and applaud it to prove how much you value "free speech." If you do that, you might earn a positive review. But not as journalists—as sadists.

Originally published in Albanian as: Për të shqetësuarit nga “review”-t negative për Erebarën