00:04You're watching Euronews' fact-checking show The Cube.
00:07Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Albania in the past week
00:11to stand against a multi-billion euro property development project
00:15linked to Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
00:18The proposal concerns the uninhabited island of Sazan
00:21as well as an area of the Vjorsanata coastal landscape.
00:25Supporters say the project could boost tourism and investment.
00:27Critics argue it risks damaging one of the country's most important natural habitats
00:32as well as selling the country out to foreign investors.
00:35There have been several misleading allegations about the project online.
00:39One video claims to show the home of Albania's prime minister burning as part of the protests.
00:45But the footage actually dates back to February 2026.
00:48It shows protesters linked to the Democratic Party burning the former villa of Ember Hotsha,
00:53the communist leader who ruled Albania for more than 40 years.
00:56One of the most widely circulated claims alleges that the Albanian real estate project
01:01is backed by or tied to the state of Israel.
01:04But we found no proof to support this.
01:07These rumours stem from misleading connections made between Kushner's Jewish background,
01:11his past role in peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas,
01:14and investments by his hedge fund Affinity Partners in Israel.
01:18This image, which depicts a barbed-wired fence with two flags, one Israeli and one Albanian,
01:24claims to show a border on the Tzernets island.
01:26But it has in fact been digitally manipulated.
01:29Videos like these allege that Israeli settlers are taking over the project land in Albania.
01:34But this is not true.
01:35It instead shows protesters in northern Albania
01:38protesting against a separate luxury resort in Bakzregil in Velipoye.
01:42Albania's anti-corruption prosecutor has opened an investigation into controversial legislation
01:48voted in 2024, loosening protections around the country's most sensitive ecosystems.
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