Negative Articles About Nikol Pashinyan Are Abundant, Says 'Media Defender'

From October 21 to 31, 2019, the 'Media Defender' initiative monitored online publications related to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s persona and activities. Five domestic news websites were regularly monitored: armlur.am, yerkir.am, armtimes.com, azatutyun.am, and yerevan.today.

During the monitoring period, a total of 541 articles were reviewed across the selected websites, of which 128 were negative, 47 were positive, and 366 were neutral. Negative articles about Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan continue to outnumber the positive ones.

According to the media reports, Lavrov stated that comments regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue do not contribute to solving the problem. These words were seen as more directed toward Armenia.

Pashinyan also faced criticism following news that a new plane is to be purchased for him. During one of the protests, a citizen brought a paper airplane, claiming it was a gift to prevent the Prime Minister from purchasing a new one. It is noted that the current aircraft can still serve for five more years. The head of the Prime Minister's Office, Edward Aghajanyan, stated that the plane servicing the Prime Minister cannot cross the ocean, and the pilots do not have the necessary licensing for such operations.

The media raised questions about the whereabouts of Robert Kocharian's $4 billion, which the Prime Minister has repeatedly mentioned. According to reports, two years have passed with no news regarding that sum.

Vazgen Manukyan also commented on the meeting between Arman Babajanyan and Nairi Hunanyan, stating he does not think anyone could have met with Hunanyan without Pashinyan's permission.

On the positive side, a meeting between Nikol Pashinyan and U.S. Ambassador Lyn Tracy was noted. Tracy positively assessed the collaboration between the Prime Minister's Office and government departments and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to continue supporting the priorities of the Armenian government.

Aghajanyan, addressing the purchase of vehicles and the renovation of residences, clarified, 'Let’s fix one thing: the Prime Minister has not bought anything for himself. These are state purchases made for the needs of the state, including the mentioned renovation of the Kondi residences, which are state property.'

Yerevan.today published 157 articles, with 84 negative, 5 positive, and 65 neutral. The site severely criticized the government's activities. One publication stated, 'Unfortunately, long-term solutions do not yet appear. We are entering the third year of the regime change with revenue changes that will not allow for even a slight improvement in the social situation. No matter how many times Nikol Pashinyan claims to raise the wages of hundreds of thousands of people, they are nothing but a drop in a glass of water.'

The claimed growth figures presented by the Prime Minister in various sectors were also reported as not corresponding to reality.

A positive evaluation was given to a publication stating that during a hearing organized by the Helsinki Commission in the U.S. Congress, Jonathan Katz, an analyst from the German Marshall Fund, said that Nikol Pashinyan's government has the best opportunity to bring real democracy to Armenia in its independent history.

On armtimes.com, 132 articles were published, with 2 negative, 17 positive, and 113 neutral. Negative feedback was noted regarding Manukyan's opinion on the meeting between Hunanyan and Babajanyan. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Anna Hakobyan participated in the crafting of a rug called 'Armenian Space' for wounded soldiers. The program will continue.

Former tax service employee Hayk Martirosyan has accepted an offer to return to work. Following a scandal related to the flag incident, he was dismissed by the Prime Minister, who recently spoke about the incident and mentioned that an offer would be made for Martirosyan to return to work.

Yerkir.am published 102 articles, with 33 negative, 8 positive, and 61 neutral articles, housing all the aforementioned criticism. In one publication, Khachik Asryan claimed to mobilize 50,000 people to bring about a regime change. Arthur Ghazinyan suggested that under a different Prime Minister, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan would have performed better in a BBC HARDtalk interview. Gagik Hambaryan noted that several individuals are resigning or leaving their positions due to their inability to tolerate the authorities' ineptitude.

The publication regarding the meeting between the U.S. Ambassador and the Prime Minister, as well as Aghajanyan’s explanation and news about the tax service employee’s return, were rated positively.

Armlur.am published 87 articles, with 7 negative, 11 positive, and 69 neutral. The site included criticisms regarding ministers' salary increases, noting they were secretly raised. In this regard, Edmond Marukyan questioned the Prime Minister about why the salary increases were done secretly. Armen Ashotyan remarked that the constitutional court has become a significant problem for Nikol Pashinyan.

Positive articles included the cases mentioned above. In addition, Kim Kardashian shared Pashinyan’s post.

Azatutyun.am published 63 articles, with 2 negative, 6 positive, and 55 neutral. Among the negative articles were Lavrov's statements and the media's conclusions, as well as Manukyan's comments. The meeting between the U.S. Ambassador and Nikol Pashinyan was rated positively, alongside Vladimir Karapetyan’s clarification regarding the salary increase issue and Viktor Mnatsakanyan's resignation application, in which he expressed gratitude to Pashinyan.

Despite the evident political lines observed in the media during the monitoring period, it is noteworthy that the situation has slightly improved in terms of impartiality compared to the previous fortnight.