Deceptive Groups Launch Campaign Against Armenia: Atlantic Council

A coordinated campaign against the Prime Minister and government of Armenia is being conducted on social media, tracing back to Russia, according to a recent investigation by the American analytical center Atlantic Council.

Experts from the organization's Digital Forensic Research Lab note that the velvet revolution in Armenia last May has restored public trust in the government, paving the way for democratic changes while also uniting those who oppose these political changes.

In recent months, the investigation states, some opponents have gathered under the hashtag #SutNikol and initiated a tangled online campaign aimed at discrediting Nikol Pashinyan and his supporters through the spread of misinformation and biased media.

According to experts, these groups employ specific methods to mislead the public. They present themselves as fact-checking organizations to gather followers and then disseminate one-sided and divisive statements regarding political developments.

"These actions are not sincere, and they are becoming increasingly active," the expert report states, detailing that on April 15, the hashtag #SutNikol began to circulate in the Armenian online media space. Analyzing the sources, Atlantic Council specialists identified four individuals closely connected to this campaign, primarily responsible for content creation and dissemination: Narek Samsonyan, founder of AntiFake.am, Arthur Danielyan and Narek Malyan, founders of Adekvad, and Konstantin Ter-Nakalyan, founder of Blognews.

"Adekvad" presents itself as a cultural center that supposedly "highlights what Freedom is silent about." The page was created after the revolution last year in June and spreads a significant number of videos featuring Arthur Danielyan, where he seems to present illegal actions or false statements by Pashinyan's government, often flavored with anti-American rhetoric. For instance, "in one video, Danielyan accuses Pashinyan of having a 'fake army', while in another, he questions the statistics provided by the Prime Minister regarding the budget, or, say, his policies in the energy sector," experts emphasize, noting that the claims are not based on solid evidence but rather on reports from sympathetic media outlets.

The other page, AntiFake.am, claims that 'the core of events taking place in Armenia recently revolves around fake news, propaganda, and manipulation.' Accordingly, the site asserts that its goal is to expose unfulfilled promises, fake news, manipulations, propaganda, publish rumors hanging in the air, and verify their credibility.

"Contrary to claims of being independent and neutral, the content of AntiFake.am is predominantly focused on discrediting Pashinyan," Atlantic Council experts state, elaborating that "the most discussed articles on the page contain divisive political commentary, unfounded reports alleging that Pashinyan visited a non-existent factory or that he attributes the successes of the previous government to himself." Experts have also noted another trend: both pages focus not only on political campaigns but also on campaigns against vaccinations, particularly targeting 'Gardasil', presenting obviously false information about it.

Western media have expressed opinions that the campaign against vaccinations has originated from and is sponsored by Russia. However, this is not the only evidence of foreign interference. According to Atlantic Council, there is clear evidence suggesting that at least AntiFake.am is not entirely managed from Armenia; domain research shows that the website's internet address is registered in Russia, specifically in St. Petersburg. Furthermore, the registration information on whois.net for that domain and the responsible individual is obscured 'for privacy reasons.'

Experts indicate they have found evidence suggesting that AntiFake.am may be linked to individuals or organizations registered in Russia.