Disinformation Campaigns Target Armenian Media, Reports JAMnews

Armenia Battles Wave of Disinformation as Elections Approach

As Armenia’s parliamentary elections draw closer, the country is experiencing an intensified campaign of disinformation targeting government officials and institutions. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s office has been regularly issuing alerts about false claims circulating online, with his press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, working overtime to counter these narratives.

In the most recent incident, Baghdasaryan denounced a fabricated publication alleging that Pashinyan and several high-ranking officials were involved in organ trafficking. “I consider it necessary to clearly state that this publication is disinformation and should be regarded as another manifestation of hybrid information actions,” she stated, emphatically rejecting the accusations.

According to an investigation by the Armenian fact-checking platform CivilNet, these disinformation campaigns follow a recognizable pattern. False claims typically first emerge on social media, often posted by anonymous users or through dormant accounts that suddenly spring back to life. Russian-language Telegram channels frequently serve as amplifiers, circulating doctored images purporting to be front pages of respected international publications.

Baghdasaryan noted that those behind these campaigns deliberately select emotionally charged topics to manipulate public opinion. “Such a methodology is one of the common tools of information manipulation. It uses topics to which society is especially sensitive in order to undermine trust in state institutions and their leaders,” she explained.

The press secretary described how these fabricated stories typically spread: first appearing on social media, then picked up by Azerbaijani media outlets, and finally amplified by certain political factions within Armenia. This distribution chain reveals a coordinated effort to influence the Armenian information space ahead of crucial elections.

One notable example investigated by CivilNet involved a false narrative that emerged during Pashinyan’s visit to France. A Telegram channel called “Odessa Za Pobedu!” claimed that French President Emmanuel Macron was urging Pashinyan to confront Russia, with the post stating: “Macron guarantees Pashinyan support after the elections if he starts a war with Russia.”

To lend credibility to these claims, the posts included images purporting to be front pages of prominent French publications like Libération, Le Parisien, and ActuJ. CivilNet’s fact-checkers quickly determined that all these images were fabricated. The actual front pages from the dates in question featured entirely different stories – Libération showed US President Donald Trump, while Le Parisien focused on rising fuel prices.

In another case, a video circulating on X (formerly Twitter) alleged a “secret Macron-Pashinyan deal” in which Armenian political consultants supposedly traveled to France to learn vote manipulation techniques. The video bore the logo of NewsGuard, a respected US fact-checking organization, in an apparent attempt to establish legitimacy.

CivilNet’s investigation revealed that the account that first shared this video, belonging to a user named Jocelyn McMorrow, had been dormant since 2013 before suddenly becoming active again on March 9, 2026. “A sudden reactivation of an account after a long period of inactivity often suggests that it may have been repurposed or taken over for use in information campaigns,” the fact-checkers explained.

The journalists also found similarities between these tactics and a disinformation strategy known as “Matryoshka,” where false materials first appear on social media before being amplified by coordinated networks of accounts and channels.

The timing of these disinformation efforts appears strategically aligned with Armenia’s electoral calendar, suggesting a concerted attempt to influence voter sentiment and potentially destabilize the political landscape. The campaigns also come amid evolving geopolitical tensions in the South Caucasus region, with Armenia navigating complex relationships with Russia, the European Union, and regional neighbors.

As election day approaches, Armenian authorities and independent media organizations continue to monitor and expose these disinformation efforts, highlighting the increasingly sophisticated nature of information warfare in the digital age.