In a post directed at Reporters Without Borders on social media, Rama pointed to findings produced by an Albanian artificial intelligence-based startup, saying the data challenged claims of government dominance over the media landscape.

Rama said the latest monitoring period covered 120 days and analysed 106,962 articles across 47 media outlets.

According to the Prime Minister, the analysis found that opposition visibility remained higher than that of the government even in media outlets commonly described as pro-government.

“Hardly the profile of a country where criticism is silenced, opposition voices are marginalized, or media pluralism is merely decorative. Again, in a genuinely “captured” media environment, none of this would exist. Not a landscape where opposition visibility dominates even in supposedly pro-government outlets. Not criticism outweighing positive government coverage by almost five times. Not opposition voices consistently prevailing across critical, balanced, and pro-government media categories alike,” Rama wrote.

Full statement by Prime Minister Edi Rama:

Dear @RSF_inter,

I am heading to Brussels where today Albania will make another important step on its path towards membership in the European Union. An essential part of that journey is, of course, both the progress achieved and the work still to be done regarding the media environment. And we will do it in full cooperation with the EU.

But since I have not heard from you after sharing the rather revealing report generated through an AI model developed by an Albanian start-up, I thought it might be useful to send you the findings of a follow-up analysis from the same source, this time with an expanded monitoring period of 120 days, covering 106,962 articles across 47 monitored media outlets.

I hope you will be pleased to learn that, regarding the familiar thesis of a “captured media” environment, the larger the sample becomes, the weaker that thesis appears to be.

Just imagine: the empirical indicators place Albania 33 percentage points below the threshold associated with structurally captured media systems.

Incredible, isn’t it?

But true.

The opposition’s Share of Voice reaches 68.2%, while government visibility stands at 31.8%. More remarkably, even within media outlets commonly labelled as pro-government, opposition visibility remains higher than government visibility itself.

Moreover, criticism of the government outweighs positive coverage by nearly five to one.

Hardly the profile of a country where criticism is silenced, opposition voices are marginalized, or media pluralism is merely decorative.

Again, in a genuinely “captured” media environment, none of this would exist.

Not a landscape where opposition visibility dominates even in supposedly pro-government outlets.

Not criticism outweighing positive government coverage by almost five times.

Not opposition voices consistently prevailing across critical, balanced, and pro-government media categories alike.

And again, these are not perceptions.

They are measurable facts, derived from a dataset of more than 106,000 published articles.

The larger the sample becomes, the more difficult it becomes to reconcile these findings with the notion of a media landscape captured by government influence.

I trust you will enjoy the attached report.

I will gladly return with further findings in the future, in the spirit of mutual respect, constructive cooperation, and our shared commitment to that often elusive, yet always worthwhile destination:

The Truth.

Feel free to click below

https://report.buletin.al

/m.m/a.f/u.sh/

The prime minister highlighted data showing opposition voices dominate the media, outnumbering government representation by over 3.5 to 1, specifically 3.57.

Likewise, PM Rama said that an Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) report found the opposition held 60.12% of political TV coverage in March, while the government received a much smaller share.

“But, to completely ignore empirical reality and frame Albania as a country of captured media and journalism under political attacks? At best, that makes the analysis not only incomplete, but poorer. And as a consequence, the ranking itself biased,” wrote PM Rama, referring to the 2026 report on media freedom by Reporters Without Borders.

Following is PM Rama’s full reaction on x social media platform:

“Dear RSF,

As you were thinking of me yesterday, which I truly appreciate, I found myself thinking of you at the start of this day, because of a remarkable AI based source – an Albanian Start Up that can be very helpful to your mission – grounded in simple empirical facts https://mellow-figolla-74f91c.netlify.app and in English version to make it simpler for you https://thunderous-ganache-18fd87.netlify.app

Over 4,500 articles analyzed, across 43 media outlets, over 66 days of monitoring.

Opposition voice: 3.57 times higher than government.

Critical sources: 4.67 times more dominant than pro-government ones.

Critical tone: 6.4 times stronger than positive coverage.

More than 15 opposition figures consistently present in headlines.

Opposition mentions: 1,828 versus 925 for the Prime Minister and government combined.

Even individually, opposition leaders outperform, with one alone exceeding the Prime Minister in media mentions.

And in headlines themselves:

368 direct opposition quotes versus 108 government ones, a 3.4 times dominance.

The harshest accusations against both the government and myself circulate freely in around 70 headlines, while there is no evidence whatsoever of any symmetrical level of attacks against anti-government media sources, or even against political opponents. Because there simply isn’t.

And according to the state regulator, AMA, the opposition held 60.12% of TV political airtime in March, while the government itself occupied a far smaller share.

These are not perceptions.

These are measurable facts.

In a truly “captured media” environment, none of this would exist.

No dominance of opposition voices.

No overwhelming prevalence of critical narratives.

No free circulation of extreme accusations.

And certainly no majority political airtime for the opposition.

We take concerns about media ownership and journalists’ working conditions very seriously. These are real issues and they must be addressed. But to completely ignore empirical reality and frame Albania as a country of captured media and journalism under political attacks?

At best, that makes the analysis not only incomplete, but poorer. And as a consequence, the ranking itself biased.

That is all.

P.S. It is for another day to explain my theory of how one can win elections by doing the exact opposite of controlling the media: letting the full flood of anti-government political venom saturate the public square, and in doing so, reveal to the ordinary citizen the worthlessness of those behind it”. /m.m/a.f/p.s./