Fake election-control programme claim in Armenia
A fake story circulating on social media claims that a secret programme called “Curtain” will operate during Armenia’s parliamentary elections on 7 June. The platform Haymitq.am published the claim first.
The article alleges that Armenia’s National Security Service of Armenia and the Central Electoral Commission of Armenia created the software on the orders of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. It further claims that the programme can monitor voters inside polling booths and alter election results in real time.
“The material in question is complete nonsense. Commenting on it would be even more absurd. The people spreading this disinformation want to create panic among the public,” Vahagn Hovakimyan told Factor TV.
The outlet also examined the claims about the alleged “secret programme” and found no evidence to support them. Investigative journalists additionally identified a number of factual errors in the story.
The article carries the headline “Prime Minister Pashinyan’s Secret Software Threatens Armenia’s Democracy”. Haymitq.am published it on 21 May.
A few days later, on 25 May, users began widely sharing the article on Facebook. The platform’s advertising tools have helped keep the story circulating in both posts and Stories.
“Next Sunday, we will see whether they [Nikol Pashinyan and his team] have succeeded in altering the results through software,” the article states.
The authors claim that six months before the...
Fake election-control programme claim in Armenia A fake story circulating on social media claims that a secret programme called “Curtain” will operate during Armenia’s parliamentary elections on 7 ...