Armenian Parliament vice speaker raises alarm over disinformation campaigns

Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Ruben Rubinyan spoke on December 16 at the National Assembly about attempts at interference in Armenia’s domestic political sphere and the spread of disinformation campaigns in the media.

In a conversation with journalists, Rubinyan noted that some English-language sites quickly publish sensational fake news, which then appears in Armenian media, highlighting the risk of external interference, Caliber.Az reports per Armenian media.

“For example, don’t you see that in two days, some English-language sites appear and sensational fake news is written. For example, they write that Pashinyan bought a house in Canada or that, by Erdogan’s order, 12 mosques will be built in Armenia. This news is published on some newly discovered English-language site or written by some Turkish journalist, and a few days later it appears on the pages of our Armenian media.

The question is not whether this worries us or not; we see the possibility of an attempt at interference, and we are expanding our tools to prevent such interference,” he said.

When asked whether Armenian law enforcement agencies can prevent this, Rubinyan replied: “They can. Well, the European Union law enforcement agencies will not come to prevent this; isn’t it clear that our law enforcement agencies must prevent it? It’s about exchanging experience and methods.”

As a reminder, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas stated that Armenia sought the EU’s support in countering hybrid threats ahead of the 2026 parliamentary elections.

By Jeyhun Aghazada