Government Employee Spreads False Information by Presenting 2017 Photos from Ukraine as Baghramyan Avenue; Users Respond to T. Chakhoyan's Post

Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister Taron Chakhoyan posted a photo on his Facebook page, claiming it was taken on Baghramyan Avenue, showing the Avenue's pollution. “A symbolic photo, Baghramyan Avenue — today,” the official wrote alongside the image.

However, internet users discovered that the photo was actually taken in 2017 in Ukraine. “Armenian government, your employee is spreading fake news. Presenting a 2017 photo from Melitopol as if it were from Baghramyan Avenue is disgusting. Just as disgusting as presenting the airport in Luhansk as the airport in Ganja,” wrote Arthur Khachatryan from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation.

Leader of the VETO movement, Narek Malyan, commented: “The henchmen of the capitulator get upset over misinformation during breaks when journalists are beaten. In the photo, the number one responsible official for combating misinformation in Armenia is spreading a fake photo, attempting to discredit the political opponents of the capitulator through lies. This official is a liar and a fraud. Just imagine how these authorities will falsify the elections.”

Political analyst Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan also addressed the published image: “The worst part is not that Taron posted it himself. The worst part is that this fool is a high-ranking state official. True, temporarily, but it will also remain in our history. And Baghramyan Avenue is perfectly clean. It is a cleanliness that Taron-like creatures have never seen.”

Shortly after, Taron Chakhoyan deleted the photo.