
On a cold January afternoon, Aldo* – a 37-year-old Albanian immigrant living in northern Italy – was scrolling through Instagram. Amidst the photos of his beloved team, AC Milan, and the posts of family and friends from Albania, an ad caught his eye. Written in Albanian, with simple language and emotional undertones, the ad was a call to Albanians living abroad like him: “Your platform to connect with Albania! Our team is here to help Albanians in the diaspora contribute and stay connected to their homeland.”
The ad linked to a Facebook page offering practical help to Albanians in the diaspora who wanted to register to vote in the upcoming parliamentary elections. It invited emigrants to fill out a form, asking for personal details such as their full name, email address, phone number, and the city where they were registered in Albania. The message ended with a patriotic note: “Your support for a better Albania starts here!”
At first, Aldo says the ad seemed harmless to him – an attempt to engage the diaspora in the elections. But the request to share personal information made him suspicious. The ad didn’t specify exactly who was offering help, and the link led to a Facebook page called “Diaspora Fier,” which he had never heard of before. The page had no posts and no information about who had created it or who was behind it.
“The post sought to establish contact with immigrants to guide the vote,” Aldo said, in an interview via the Zoom app. “There was no transparency and the request for personal data constitutes a violation of the GDPR,” he added, referring to the EU directive on personal data protection.
The 'Diaspora Fier' ad is part of a wider online electoral marketing campaign that focuses on Albanian diaspora voters. According to data from Meta – the parent company of the Facebook and Instagram platforms – hundreds of thousands of users residing in Italy have been targeted since the beginning of January with similar ads from at least five Facebook and Instagram pages, offering them assistance in registering as voters in the May 11 parliamentary elections.
Data collected by BIRN shows that behind this campaign are at least two marketing companies, 'Cambria Marketing Srl' and '1001 Solutions', as well as a news portal - which have multiple connections to businessman Ylli Ujka, organizer of a large rally for the Socialist Party in Busto Arsizio, in the province of Varese, on May 24, 2024.
After the rally, which was also attended by Prime Minister Edi Rama and broadcast live by the government platform ERTV on Facebook, one of Ujka's companies received a permit to build two towers and a multi-story hotel in the center of Tirana.
The Facebook advertising campaign is part of a larger electoral effort by the Socialist Party, dubbed the “Diaspora Tour” – led by Minister of State Taulant Balla and Prime Minister Edi Rama, to influence the vote of Albanian immigrants. This includes dozens of electoral meetings in Italy, Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, with participation from Albanian artists, musicians and national football players.
The Electoral Code does not directly regulate political advertising on social networks, spending on election campaigns by third parties – as businessman Ujka appears to be doing, nor spending or in-kind gifts to political parties that are given outside the 30-day election campaign period.
However, these advertisements, as well as political meetings in the diaspora, raise concerns about the transparency of election campaign financing, the source of the money used, and the potential benefits of funders from government funds and decisions.
Contacted by BIRN, Cambria Marketing and 1001 Solutions declined to comment on the funders of the advertising campaign. Businessman Ylli Ujka could not be reached for comment. The Socialist Party did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Edi Rama's office stated that obtaining a construction permit from Ujka's company was a right that could not be denied.
“Property development permission is a right, not a favor,” Rama said, through a spokeswoman. “Therefore, such insinuations are regrettable,” he added.
Facebook campaign
According to the 2023 National Population and Housing Census and the civil registry, at least 2.2 million Albanians live abroad. A portion of Albanians living abroad and over the age of 18 will have the opportunity to vote for the first time in the parliamentary elections on May 11, directly affecting the electoral balance in the country.
According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), as of January 23, there were over 60,000 requests to register as voters from abroad, of which 34.1% came from Italy.
Through searches in Meta's advertising library, BIRN was able to identify five Facebook and Instagram pages that have targeted members of the Albanian diaspora in Italy through advertisements, offering them assistance in registering as voters abroad in the May 11 parliamentary elections, or placing advertisements to promote the two main events of the Socialist Party's "Diaspora Tour" in Italy.
By January 19, 2025, this advertising campaign had reached more than 1.1 million people on Instagram, Facebook, and Messenger apps, through 51 ads, of which only 37 were identified as ads for political or social issues.
Most of the ads, or 37 of the total, were made by the Facebook page titled 'Comunità Albanese in Italia', and according to Meta data, were amplified by the Italian marketing agency 'Cambria Marketing Srl'. The 'Comunità Albanese in Italia' page was established on May 13, 2024.
Its main purpose was to promote a large electoral meeting of Prime Minister Edi Rama at the Sports Palace in Busto Arsizio on May 16, 2024, where singers Alban Skënderaj, Elvana Gjata, Noizy, Artiola Toska and Anxhela Peristeri were also invited to perform. Similar advertisements were also made for a meeting of the Minister of State, Taulant Balla, at the Palace of Congresses in Florence on December 20, also part of the “Diaspora Tour.”
After opening the registration of voters from abroad in early January, this site has launched a blitz of ads offering registration assistance to voters from the diaspora while simultaneously collecting their personal data. The ads amplified by 'Cambria Marketing Srl' have specifically targeted diaspora voters originating from three counties in Albania: Tirana, Lezha and Fieri.
“Lezha needs you: your vote can make the difference. Vote from Italy,” reads one of the 'Comunità Albanese in Italia' advertisements, the text superimposed on the Albanian flag, with the black double-headed eagle placed on a red background.
The ad promises immigrants free help registering over the phone, but in the meantime asks them to send information about how many people vote in their family, their country of origin, their name, email, and phone number.
Asked by BIRN over the phone, Massimiliano Cambria – head of 'Cambria Marketing' – said he was not allowed to reveal the source that paid for these Facebook ads.
A similar campaign has been carried out by two other pages, registered on January 7, 2025, 'Diaspora Fier' and 'Diaspora Lezhë', which also offer assistance for immigrants to register for elections, but similarly request personal data.
“Our team is here to help Albanians in the diaspora contribute and stay connected to their homeland,” reads one of the Facebook ads, asking Albanians living abroad for their first and last name, country of residence, phone number, and email.
“Our team will contact you soon to continue with the assistance you need. We are here to guide you every step of the way – because your voice matters for the future of Albania,” she adds.
These two pages have posted 8 ads on Facebook, Instagram and Messenger since the beginning of January 2025. These ads were amplified by a marketing company in Tirana called '1001 Solutions' Shpk.
Similar to 'Cambria Marketing', the head of '1001 Solutions' did not respond to BIRN's request for transparency on the advertising campaign.
BIRN was able to identify two other accounts that promoted political activities: “@diaspora.shqiptare” on Instagram and a news portal called Radar.al, which promoted a meeting of the Minister of State, Taulant Balla, with the diaspora at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Florence on December 20, 2024.
'Diaspora Tour'
When Edi Rama entered the E-Work Arena hall in Busto Arsizio on May 26, the stairs and field of the sports palace, where volleyball matches are held, were filled with Albanian immigrants waving the national flag and the Italian tricolor.
After performances by well-known singers such as Elvana Gjata, Artiola Toska and others, as well as the national anthems of both countries, Prime Minister Rama took the stage to deliver a speech, amidst chants of "Edi, Edi."
"Albania has earned the trust of the world and deserves the trust of every Albanian like you," Rama told those present, while in the front row of the hall stood his wife Linda Rama, the Speaker of the Parliament, Elisa Spiropali, and former Minister of the Environment, Blendi Klosi.
Alongside Rama, Klos and the ministers was businessman Ylli Ujka.
In an interview with VareseNews.it, two days before the event in Busto Arsizio, Ujka told the Italian media that he was a supporter of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
"I support his government and believe that this event in Busto Arsizio is very important for the Albanian community, because it aims to offer a moment to remember the past and at the same time look towards the future," he said.
“I believe that Rama perfectly represents the Albanian spirit, a small people but with a big heart,” added Ujka, emphasizing that, “I am sure that the hall will be full.”
Ujka is a little-known character in Albania, but in the Varese area of ??Italy he heads the IDA industrial group, which produces insulation materials for the construction industry.
In the last three years, together with his partner Cesk Ivanaj, he has invested in 4 Albanian companies, produced a film with Hollywood actor Danny Glover, and financed the “Besëlidhja” basketball team in his hometown of Lezha.
In Albania, Ujka is a co-shareholder of the companies Sole Mio Group, Radar Media Group, X One and Growing Group.
Two months after the successful diaspora rally organized in Milan by Ujka, on July 31, 2024, the National Council of Territoriality (KKT), led by Prime Minister Edi Rama, approved a construction permit for the X One company for the “Grand Park Skyline” facility, located on Adem Jashari Street in Tirana, at the entrance to the Artificial Lake Park.
The project includes three buildings: two residences and a hotel, respectively 51, 40 and 71 stories high, with a total area of ??almost 150,000 square meters. The hotel is expected to carry the luxury brand Philip Plein.
In addition to organizing the event in Milan, Ujka also has dual ties to the advertising campaign targeting the diaspora voter and has promoted the Socialist Party's "Diaspora Tour" in Italy on social media.
His company IDA in Italy is a client of “Cambria Marketing Srl”, while Radar Media is co-owned by Ujka and the marketing agency 1001 Solutions. The latter's main clients are companies in which Ujka is a shareholder.
Marketing agency 1001 Solutions has also organized the presentation event of the Grand Park Skyline project in Tirana, as well as the campaign for the film produced by Ujka with Danny Glover, titled The Prosecutor.
Radar.al, where Ujka is a shareholder, has also made at least one advertisement to promote the meeting with the diaspora of the Minister of State, Taulant Balla, on December 20 in Florence./ BIRN
*Name has been changed to protect privacy.