Jailed Albanian Mayor Uses AI Video To Pledge Free School Meals
The jailed mayor of Tirana has used an AI-generated video of himself to address voters from behind bars.
Erion Veliaj posted the video on Instagram. In it, an AI avatar pledges free school meals for the city’s children.
Instagram has labelled the video as AI content. The digital likeness stands in front of Albanian and municipal flags.
The AI mayor claims he has been held “hostage” for 20 months. “I cannot send this greeting except through artificial intelligence,” the avatar says.
Veliaj is in prison in the coastal city of Durres. He is awaiting trial on financial crime charges.
He was arrested in February 2025 with his wife in an alleged scheme involving about one million euros in bribes and city funds.
The video has drawn backlash in Albania. Critics compare it to AI-generated speeches by other incarcerated politicians, including Imran Khan and Jair Bolsonaro.
Veliaj remains the official mayor of Tirana until municipal elections in the first half of 2027.
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