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The fact-finding initiative of CivilNet independent media outlet, #CivilNetCheck, has looked at dozens of Facebook pages spending thousands of dollars on counter-propaganda in its weekly fake news exposure.

The report reveals that immediately after the start of protests against the border delimitation with Azerbaijan in Armenia’s Tavush Province, a number of Facebook pages have been promoting propaganda and conspiracy theories against the Tavush for the Homeland movement and its leader Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan.

In an effort to engage larger audiences, they have been spending thousands of dollars on Facebook advertising tools.

#CivilNetCheck has revealed those pages, who they are managed by and the content they are disseminating.

Posts on these Facebook pages mostly allege that Archbishop Bagrat is backed by Russia and its President Vladimir Putin, while the Tavush movement is part of renewed war against Armenia’s independence waged by the Kremlin. The reports claim that second Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is the “hidden beneficiary” of the movement.

CivilNet reveals that some of those pages actively disseminated similar reports about former Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan, who was the main contender to the ruling Civil Contract party candidate during the Yerevan City Council elections in 2023.

Armenian News is among these pages which has spent around $800 to boost its posts in two days, targeting Facebook and Instagram users. The pages of Chisht (The Truth) and Cnews pages clearly linked to Civil Contract are also actively promoting such narratives.

“The Truth was active during the Yerevan mayoral elections but was not updated after they were over. Now its target is Archbishop Bagrat. The page is run by Vilen Cafesjian, a former member of the My Step faction of the Yerevan City Council," the media outlet says.

The pages of Ashkharhi Hayer (Armenians of the World), HAY News, New Armenia Blog and Armenian Zone are also explicitly campaigning against the movement and Archbishop Bagrat. Their posts are almost identical in content and the pages often utilize Facebook paid advertising to reach larger audiences and promote these narratives. The pages of ARMENIA, Zarmanali Ashkharh (Wonderful World), ArmenaNews and Medianews are also coordinated by the same center.

"These pages are linked to Taron Chakhoyan, the deputy chief of the prime minister’s staff who was formerly engaged in blogging. The pages have a large number of followers and almost simultaneously share the same content. They target demonstrators and occasionally circulate fake news. Thus, thousands of dollars are being spent on conspiracy and content targeting Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan and his movement through the use of about two dozen pages. The circulating narratives are clearly pro-government and the dissemination of identical reports may indicate that they are controlled by a single center,” CivilNet reports.

Thus, the incumbent Armenian authorities are using Facebook to spread defamatory content and polarize opinions.