A viral video claiming to depict Albanians vandalizing the construction site of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s proposed luxury resort in Albania is circulating widely on social media.
The footage emerged amid existing protests and environmental concerns regarding the couple’s ambitious tourism project slated for Albania’s southern coast. While the video has been shared with assertions that it shows anti-corruption demonstrators targeting the development, an investigation has revealed a different context.
The video actually originates from Kakome, a location several miles south of the planned resort development on the Zvernec Peninsula and Sazan Island. Local reports indicate the footage shows residents dismantling barriers and fences they claimed had unfairly obstructed access to their land for decades.
Although demonstrations against Kushner’s tourism project have occurred in other parts of Albania, this particular viral footage does not depict protesters at the intended resort site. The claim that it does is therefore misattributed.
Separately, Ivanka Trump has described discovering the island during a boating trip, recalling it as a “beautiful 1,400-hectare private island in the middle of the Mediterranean.”
Despite these plans, environmental groups and activists continue to voice opposition, citing potential threats to the region’s sensitive ecology, which includes habitats for flamingos, migratory birds, Mediterranean monk seals, and sea turtles. Concerns have also been raised that recent legal changes may have reduced protections for previously safeguarded areas, potentially easing the path for tourism developments in ecologically sensitive locations.
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