Armenian journalists, editors and activists have made six short educational videos to help ordinary social media users recognise misleading content, according to an interview published by Global Voices. Their project is called "Verify This," and Global Voices describes it as a response to Russian propaganda and the manipulation of information.
Six reels on practical verification
Armin Asryan, a member of the group, told Global Voices that the team calls itself a group of enthusiasts and works through the Socio Club, a social and information NGO. The project was carried out under the Digital Spark granting scheme. Asryan said the hardest task was taking demanding ideas, including lateral reading and spotting AI artifacts, and turning them into simple videos that people with limited technical skills could follow.
Asked what prompted the work, Asryan said Armenia's social networks are badly affected by online hostility, poor-quality material and false information. In his account, such posts spread panic and fear and wear down public trust in important institutions.
Audience and creators
According to Asryan, the reels were aimed at people 18 and over, and the team made a particular effort to reach those living in villages outside the capital region. Deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers were offered a sign language version. He said the work was split between two teams: veteran journalists older than 60, and a younger set of content makers ranging from their early 20s into their 30s.
Asryan said the reels are not a one-off; the group plans to show them at training sessions and pass them to other civic organisations. The team has further ideas it hopes to pursue, he added.
The wider setting
Global Voices places the interview against Armenia's recent politics. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan won re-election on June 7, 2026, in a vote the outlet says was shadowed by allegations of Russian meddling. According to Reuters, which relied on unnamed Western intelligence officials and documents, Moscow worked secretly to weaken Pashinyan and boost pro-Russian contenders, with disinformation among its tools.
NewsGuard, a US-based disinformation monitor, counted 31 invented stories targeting Pashinyan that a Russia-linked campaign pushed out over the span of a week. Those items claimed he had rigged the vote and wanted to draw his country into conflict with Russia, NewsGuard said. Some imitated France 24 and Politico, while others posed as Armenian outlets Armenpress and CivilNet, according to the monitor.
The interview belongs to a series on Digital Spark grantees within the Regional Support Mechanism EECA project, which the Metamorphosis Foundation and TechSoup implement in partnership with CIVICUS under the Digital Democracy Initiative. Global Voices published it through a content-sharing agreement.
Sources
- Global Voices (CC BY 3.0)
