Tracing Disinformation Against Armenia: From Narratives to Organised Networks

Against the backdrop of discussions about "hybrid warfare" and external information influence in Armenia, Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has stated that Moscow has no connection to disinformation campaigns directed against Armenia, attributing them instead to the "collective West."

"Such an approach is foreign to Russia. We have always respected and will continue to respect each nation's sovereign choice," Zakharova said.

In recent months, various assessments have formed around disinformation publications circulating in Armenia's information field. The current authorities view them as manifestations of hybrid warfare being conducted by Russia. Meanwhile, some opposition circles question the Russian origin of these processes.

#CivilNetCheck has analysed the disinformation content circulating in Armenia's information field over the past few months, including its sources, distribution, and applied methods.

Narratives Being Spread About Armenia

Since the beginning of 2025, foreign-language "investigations" and "scandalous revelations" about Armenia have begun circulating in the information field, presented as publications from authoritative international media outlets. While such materials had been appearing approximately once a month earlier in the year, their intensity has significantly increased over the past two months, reaching almost a weekly frequency. Some of these have been reprinted in Armenian media, creating the impression that the source is a reliable international media outlet.

In reality, most of these "revelations" are published not in real media outlets, but in fake websites that mimic them. 

The publications mainly target the Armenian authorities, Western institutions and countries, as well as Armenia's foreign policy diversification.

Corruption Allegations Against the Armenian Authorities

Specifically, publications have spread claims that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has purchased luxury mansions in Canada and France. False publications were also spread about his family members: allegedly, Anna Hakobyan embezzled $3.4 million from the "City of Smiles" foundation, while her brother Hrachya Hakobyan is demolishing the Yerevan Conservatory building to build a casino in its place.

Claims About State Treason, Territorial Concessions, and Loss of National-Religious Identity

Publications spread claims that the Prime Minister is preparing to cede territories from Syunik to Azerbaijan, and that mosques will be built in Armenia at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The claims were first posted on the Turkish outlet ODA TV. 

Armenia Presented as Totalitarian and Repressive

The articles and videos claimed that "modern concentration camps" operate in Armenia, and that Armenia’s prisons hold almost 25,000 convicts. A figure in an AI-edited video claimed that National Security Service employees raped her as punishment for participating in protests against Pashinyan.

Armenian Authorities as "Morally Depraved and Criminal"

During this period, publications spread claims that National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan created a pedophilia network for high-ranking officials. A newly-created website Armenia Daily accused Pashinyan and Defence Minister Suren Papikyan of creating a sex services network involving minors. 

The West Using Armenian Territory for Dangerous Experiments

Articles also took aim at Armenia’s Western partners. For example, one claimed that European pharmaceutical companies are testing dangerous substances on pregnant women, children, and people with disabilities in Armenia with the authorities' consent, and another that the French company Orano is secretly transporting nuclear waste to Dilijan National Park.

See: Armenia in the Crosshairs of "Secret Laboratories": Where the Disinformation Campaign Leads

All claims presented in these publications have been refuted with evidence by fact-checking organisations and various state agencies. But what do these publications have in common, what mechanisms are used to spread them, and has similar disinformation been observed outside Armenia?

What Mechanism Is Being Used

These "revelations" are spread through several mechanisms. For example, news is published on a website that mimics an internationally known media outlet, then actively spread on social networks through hundreds of anonymous accounts. In some cases, the source of a "scandalous revelation" is an unknown social media account or a video created or edited using artificial intelligence.

And Armenia is not the only country where this mechanism has been observed. As international organizations have determined, these are systematic disinformation campaigns that have already been carried out in different countries. In international studies, these campaigns, depending on the methods used, are mainly divided into three groups: Doppelgänger, Matryoshka, and Storm 1516.

What Are the Characteristics of These Three?

In the Doppelgänger campaign, fake websites are created that mimic well-known media outlets in appearance and domains. Some disinformation materials related to Armenia were spread specifically on Courrier France 24, which mimics France 24, and on timescanada[.]ca, which mimics The Times of Canada—both no longer operational.

Experts believe a significant portion of disinformation publications spread in Armenia is part of the Storm-1516 campaign. This campaign uses fake news websites, AI-generated content, and multilingual deepfakes that are systematically spread on social platforms, mainly on X, through numerous anonymous and short-lived user accounts. In some cases, articles are also spread through Russian-language Telegram channels to more easily reach Armenian audiences.

Materials spread as part of this campaign included an AI-edited video in which a female figure claims she was raped by NSS employees after participating in protests against Pashinyan, and the article about Pashinyan and Papikyan's having a sex services network involving minors. 

The publication about mosque construction in Armenia was also part of this campaign: after it was published on Oda.tv, hundreds of accounts on X began spreading the same claim, accompanied by AI-generated videos. 

In the Matryoshka campaign, fake or manipulated content is initially published on social platforms by a small number of anonymous accounts, which often mimic the style and format of authoritative Western media outlets or institutions. The information is then systematically spread through bot accounts to journalists, media outlets, and fact-checking organisations with requests for "verification" or "response."

In Armenia's case, activation of the "Matryoshka" network was recently recorded when bot accounts connected to the same network on X and Bluesky social platforms spread more than 60 AI-created and edited videos targeting Prime Minister Pashinyan.

These mentioned the 2026 parliamentary elections. The videos used names and images of public figures and authoritative institutions, including Kim Kardashian, Serj Tankian, Andre Agassi, as well as Cambridge University, Euronews, and other media and research institutions.

In the videos, Nikol Pashinyan is presented as "building gas chambers," and his policy is compared to the period preceding the Holocaust in Germany.

#CivilNetCheck regularly receives emails from unknown users who suggest "checking" obviously fake or manipulated content, applying the same mechanism characteristic of the "Matryoshka" campaign. 

What International Studies Show About the Origin of These Campaigns

International research and documented data show that "Doppelgänger," "Matryoshka," and “Storm-1516” are information influence operations conducted by Russia. 

For example, documents leaked and published in 2024 showed that Russia's "Social Design Agency" conducted information campaigns on behalf of the Russian authorities aimed at supporting far-right forces in Europe and weakening support for Ukraine in the West. The documents revealed that this agency is also behind the "Doppelgänger" campaign. 

See: Fake reportage imitating France 24 and disinformation spread around France-Armenia relations

Additionally, the source of some "scandalous revelations" published about Armenia has been the website of "Foundation for Fighting Injustice" (Фонд борьбы с репрессиями), created by Yevgency Prigozhin, founder of the private military company the Wagner Group. This is where "investigations" about Alen Simonyan's alleged pedophilia, the prison population of 25,000, and pharmaceutical experiments were initially published. These materials were later republished in English on VT Foreign Policy and londontimes[.]live websites.

This content is then reposted on social networks by fake or pro-Russian users.

Additionally, a series of fake publications directed against Armenia is attributed to Lucas Leiroz and Okay Deprem, who, according to open sources, have ties to Russia. 

Brazilian journalist Leiroz appeared as the author on the aforementioned VT Foreign Policy website of articles claiming the substance testing on pregnant woman and children in Armenia, that "modern concentration camps" operate, and that National Assembly Speaker Alen Simonyan is involved in creating a pedophilia network.

In open sources, he is presented as a journalist and researcher, but frequently gives interviews to Russian media outlets and participates in events held in Russia.

The other author, Okay Deprem, is a journalist for Turkish ODA TV. He authored the articles claiming territorial concessions in Syunik and building mosques in Armenia at Erdogan's request. In various interviews, Deprem has advanced Russian propaganda theses. The ODA TV website is also mentioned in the 2025 report by France's Agency for Combating Foreign Digital Interference (VIGINUM) as a platform spreading content within the “Storm 1516” campaign. 

See: Pro-Kremlin sources are spreading disinformation on the topic of ‘biolaboratories,’ targeting Armenia.

Same Scenario, Same Figures in Other Countries

Most narratives spread against Armenia are almost identical to fake news spread about Ukraine, for example, using the same platforms and methods. For instance, just like with Pashinyan, corruption allegations were also spread against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about acquiring luxury real estate abroad, which were later debunked.

Another example is the disinformation spread around the French company Orano. In 2025, news circulated that Ukraine was preparing to buy uranium from Niger to create nuclear weapons. However, Ukrainian officials did not visit Africa in 2023, Orano lost its uranium mining license in Niger after political changes, and Ukraine has no nuclear weapons creation program, as has been repeatedly confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the country's official bodies.

Before Moldova's September elections, the "Matryoshka" network conducted a large-scale disinformation campaign, spreading hundreds of fake and manipulated videos. These targeted Moldova's President Maia Sandu as a figure endangering the country's sovereignty, while European integration was presented as a source of economic collapse and migration crisis.

Similar disinformation campaigns have been recorded in France, Germany, and other countries. 

These campaigns’ links to Russia is also documented by the independent Russian Gnida Project (All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Nits), which systematically studies and documents Russian information influence and disinformation operations in different countries. 

Additionally, #CivilNetCheck spoke with representatives of another independent Russian initiative, the Bot Blocker project, who also track these disinformation campaigns. They note that the same mechanisms are being used in Armenia that were previously recorded in other countries, and whose connection to Russia has been repeatedly documented in international studies. According to them, some of this content also circulates on pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and among already-exposed Russian bot accounts.