List of Fake News of the Year: Infocheck

The Information Verification Center has summarized the year 2019 by presenting a concise list of misinformation that emerged in the media landscape and resonated widely among the public throughout the year.

Letter from Nikol Pashinyan on 'Surrendering Artsakh'
In July 2019, a letter purportedly written by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg circulated in the media. The letter claimed that the Prime Minister was willing to surrender Artsakh to Azerbaijan. At first glance, one could deduce that both the image and the content were fake. The absence of a seal and numbering on the document, in addition to the substantive errors, indicated the falsity of the letter.

Absence of the Artsakh Flag: The Cause of New Conspiracy Theories
Simultaneously with a meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Artsakh President Bako Sahakyan in the government, criticisms from political figures and Facebook users emerged in the media, primarily focusing on the absence of the Artsakh flag. According to these claims, not placing the Artsakh flag next to the Armenian flag was intentional and contained a specific message. However, the absence of the flag conveyed no such message; moreover, it was not the first time that the flag was absent during a meeting between the leaders of Armenia and Artsakh.

In official meetings, the question of whether or not to place the flag is determined by protocol. In this case, the placement of the Artsakh flag was simply not planned.

Armenia Did Not Halt Financial Support to Artsakh
On June 6, news circulated actively that the Armenian government had been rejecting financial aid requests from the Artsakh Republic government for two months. This information was denied by the Ministry of Finance, which stated that the Armenian government transfers 57.4 billion drams annually to the Artsakh Republic within the framework of an intergovernmental loan, amounting to 4 billion 820 million drams per month, which is transferred in two installments. The schedule for the intergovernmental loan was established by the Artsakh Republic, and Armenia has always made transfers according to the established schedule without delay.

Anna Hakobyan Did Not Fly on the Same Plane as Mehriban Aliyeva
In April, a Facebook user claimed that Anna Hakobyan flew from Paris to the USA on April 1 with Azerbaijan's First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva. This post gained significant traction on social networks as well as in news outlets. It was also false. Anna Hakobyan did not fly in the same plane as the First Lady of Azerbaijan, nor did she travel to the USA from Paris, as stated by her press secretary.

Misinformation about Cars for the Prime Minister's Family Members
In October, Armenian media reported that one of the armored 'Mercedes-Benz' cars acquired for heads of state attending the EAEU Supreme Economic Council meeting was allocated for personal use by Anna Hakobyan, the Prime Minister's wife, who holds no official position. This information was false; none of the purchased cars were allocated for Anna Hakobyan's use.

Additionally, reports circulated in December about the purchase of a 2019 Nissan X-trail for Prime Minister Pashinyan's daughter, Mariam Pashinyan. Responding to this, Pashinyan indicated that the car was not purchased for Mariam but rather for the State Protection Service and was acquired not in 2019 at his daughter's request, but on April 6, 2018, 'when Mariam was the daughter of a potential prisoner.'

The Minister of Justice’s Exemption from Military Service is Free from Corruption Risks
There were various rumors circulating regarding Justice Minister Rustam Badasyan’s exemption from mandatory military service. The media reported that the exemption contained corruption risks, casting doubt on the health certificate provided by the Arabkir recruitment office regarding the new minister. Shortly thereafter, a certificate was published showing that Rustam Badasyan was exempted from service due to a diagnosis of scoliosis.

No Project to Legalize Drugs for Public Consumption
The draft amendments to the RA law on 'Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances', which proposed legalizing the use of drugs for scientific, educational, and experimental purposes, sparked the spread of several misinformation reports. News outlets claimed that the government had circulated a 'draft for the legalization of drug use'. The articles even included photos of various drugs and syringes, while there was no intention to legalize drugs for public consumption.

RyanAir’s Entry into the Armenian Market and Subsequent Manipulations
RyanAir’s entry as one of the new airlines in Armenia was accompanied not only by great enthusiasm but also by false information circulating around it. Specifically, the next day, media reported that the state was to pay $76 for each passenger. Subsequently, there were claims that RyanAir entered Armenia because all airport fees were waived for it. Both pieces of information were false. Clarifications from the Director of Civil Aviation and the Prime Minister indicated that for all routes not served in the past year, the government would eliminate the 'air fee' of 1000 drams. This opportunity was extended not only to RyanAir but to all airlines.

Armenia Did Not Grant Political Asylum to Vitaly Shishkin
A post from Russian public and political figure Vitaly Shishkin stating that Armenia provided him with refugee status sparked a significant wave of discussion. The confusion between the terms 'refugee' and 'political asylum' led to information circulating in both Armenian and Russian media that Armenia had granted Shishkin political asylum for the first time under the Political Asylum Act. The migration service denied this news, indicating that the Political Asylum Act of Armenia has never been applied. Armenia granted Vitaly Shishkin not political asylum but refugee status based on an international convention.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Never Visited Armenia
Recently, there has been active public discussion regarding the arrival of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi in Armenia. It was reported that the crown prince, having come to make investments in Armenia, left the country after an unsuccessful meeting with the Mayor of Yerevan and the chief architect, without making any investments. In reality, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has never visited Armenia. In the summer of 2019, the President of the UAE's son visited Armenia, who is not the Crown Prince, and he did not personally meet with the mayor.

Iran Participated in the Pan-Armenian Games in Artsakh
In June, the media reported that Iranian representatives would not participate in the Pan-Armenian Games, as the opening ceremony would be held in Artsakh, and Iranian authorities did not want to spoil relations with Azerbaijan. However, the Press Service of the Pan-Armenian Games' global committee announced that the Iranian delegation had one of the largest counts of applications, with more than 245 applications, including 36 from Tabriz, 39 from Isfahan and Shahinshahr, and nearly 170 from Tehran.