



{"id":18825,"date":"2019-12-16T10:52:50","date_gmt":"2019-12-16T10:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/?p=18825"},"modified":"2019-12-18T19:34:12","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T19:34:12","slug":"fake-news-that-was-circulated-and-refuted-between-december-1-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/verified\/2019\/12\/16\/18825\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake News That Was Circulated And Refuted Between December 1-15"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the first half of December, the Armenian press was discussing the visit of Arab sheiks to Yerevan, accusing soccer referee Pierluigi Collina of illegally adopting a child from Armenia and calculating the budget for the New Year&#8217;s events.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pierluigi Collina did not adopt a child from Armenia illegally<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On December 5, Zhoghovurd Daily <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20191213145022\/https:\/\/www.1in.am\/2668076.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that they were able to reveal, based on the tracks left behind NSS reports on illegal adoptions by foreigner citizens,\u00a0 that one of the children had been adopted by world-renowned soccer referee Pierluigi.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The newspaper did not specify how this was discovered and what evidence it had. The material was similarly reprinted by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/zham.am\/?p=50748&amp;l=am\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Zham.am<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tert.am\/am\/news\/2019\/12\/05\/zhoghovurd\/3156964\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tert.am<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.am\/arm\/news\/548162.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">News.am<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and a number of other sites.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Ministry of Justice <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aysor.am\/am\/news\/2019\/12\/06\/%D5%B8%D6%80%D5%A4%D5%A5%D5%A3%D6%80%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D5%B0%D5%A5%D6%80%D6%84%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B4\/1637549\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">denied<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the news. Calling on all not to disseminate misinformation, the ministry also added that if the secret of adoption is disclosed contrary to the will of the adopter, it provides for criminal liability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Collina also <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ansa.it\/english\/news\/2019\/12\/06\/collina-says-armenia-illegal-adoption-report-is-false_4a9dc01f-f3d1-48f6-af00-310e7a572ad9.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">touched on<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the information, noting that he was &#8220;stunned&#8221; by the news and that he and his wife had never planned to adopt a child.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sheiks in Armenia: Gagik Tsarukyan and his colleagues give false information<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In early December, the media was actively discussing the meeting of Arab Sheiks and Mayor Hayk Marutyan.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prosperous Armenia Party leader Gagik Tsarukyan <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ONfnSDfCTNQ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that the municipality had expelled billionaire foreign investors by interrupting their meeting with them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">According to Tsarukyan, investors, including Sheikhs of the United Arab Emirates, wanted to build two hotels and a charitable hospital in Yerevan, but their representatives came out of the meeting with the mayor disappointedly and the investments were &#8220;frozen.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qptN5weQ00g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">defended<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Marutyan at the National Assembly, noting that investors came to the meeting in jeans and talked on the phone several times during the meeting, showing disrespect.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tsarukyan countered that the caller was a very important man, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, who was in Armenia at the time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Later it turned out that Jaber Al Marzouqi, a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/2eeUHEzTPq0?t=16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">partner<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> of Gagik Tsarukyan and the director of Euromotors, was present at the meeting. Tsarukyan has a stake in Euromotors. Euromotors is owned by the Arab Princess Group, owned by Al Marzouqi&#8217;s brother.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Jaber Al Marzouqi also <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=EfdQQgkFA6U\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that Abu Dhabi&#8217;s crown prince was in Armenia during those days and that he had been the one calling them (his words were translated on Tsarukyan&#8217;s &#8220;Kentron&#8221; television channel).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.1lurer.am\/hy\/2019\/12\/04\/%D4%B1%D5%84%D4%B7-%D4%B6%D5%88%D5%92-%D5%A3%D5%AC%D5%AD%D5%A1%D5%BE%D5%B8%D6%80-%D5%B0%D6%80%D5%A1%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A1%D5%BF%D5%A1%D6%80%D5%AB-%D5%BF%D5%A5%D5%B2%D5%A1%D5%AF%D5%A1%D5%AC-%D5%B7%D5%A5%D5%B5%D5%AD-%D5%84%D5%B8%D6%82%D5%B0%D5%A1%D5%B4%D5%B4%D5%A1%D5%A4-%D5%A2%D5%AB%D5%B6-%D4%B6%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%A5%D5%A4-%D5%A1%D5%AC-%D5%86%D5%A1%D5%B0%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%B6%D5%A8-%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A2%D6%87%D5%A7-%D5%B9%D5%AB-%D5%A1%D5%B5%D6%81%D5%A5%D5%AC%D5%A5%D5%AC-%D5%80%D5%A1%D5%B5%D5%A1%D5%BD%D5%BF%D5%A1%D5%B6-%D4%B1\/157979\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">UAE Embassy denied<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> both Tsarukyan&#8217;s and Al Marzouqi&#8217;s statements, noting that the crown prince had never been to Armenia.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The NA deputy did not receive an instruction from Pashinyan<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">&#8220;Hraparak&#8221; newspaper <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/news.am\/arm\/news\/548993.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that Pashinyan &#8220;instructed&#8221; MP Hamazasp Danielyan to submit the new drafts of the parties and the Electoral Code to the NA by the end of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The paper also insisted that Pashinyan intends to change the system of governance by making the country semi-presidential.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/168.am\/2019\/12\/10\/1220280.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In an interview<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> with 168 Hours, Hamazasp Danielyan refuted the allegations, saying that the timing of the new laws had been publicly announced and that the media was trying to present transparent information as confidential.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The article is not available on the Hraparak website.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">548 million AMD will not be spent on New Year&#8217;s Eve<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Antifake.am has published false information that the budget for New Year events is 548 million AMD. Member of the Luys faction council, Tehmina Vardanyan, insisted that the municipality allocated 525 million AMD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Fact-Checking Platform <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fip.am\/9670\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">referred<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to the amount of money allocated for organizing New Year&#8217;s events, noting that it totaled about 424 million AMD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This amount includes 54 million AMD from the community budget for major events, about 84 million AMD for district lighting and public events, 15 million AMD for administrative staff corporate New Year events, and about 271 million AMD of additional expenditures for the first time this year from the state budget.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marina Khachatryan&#8217;s announcement was groundless<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Back in November, former council member Marina Khachatryan <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/armtimes.com\/hy\/article\/174398\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">stated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that &#8220;women living in homes in Gyumri sell their children to Turks with tears in their eyes.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Police carried out inspections on the statement. On December 6, Gyumri police reported that no information was obtained on any such an incident.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Marina Khachatryan confessed to police that no citizen had alerted her, she had no information on victims and that she had made the announcement based on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/armeniasputnik.am\/society\/20191206\/21337817\/gyumrecinery-tcisht-ein-marinan-sxal-dataxazy-herqum-e-erexanerin-vatcarelu-lury.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">news floating in the air<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are inaccuracies in Lapshin&#8217;s post on ecology<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Blogger Aleksander Lapshin <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo.php?fbid=163832324855605&amp;set=a.107312807174224&amp;type=3&amp;theater\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote a post<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> about Armenia&#8217;s poor ecological status, noting that Yerevan is among the 10 most polluted cities in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lapshin&#8217;s post was reprinted by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/med.news.am\/rus\/news\/24464\/armeniya-teryaet-v-god-bolshe-grazhdan-ot-onkologii-i-infarktov-chem-za-vse-karabakhskie-voiyniyaleksandr-lapshin.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">News.am<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/168.am\/2019\/11\/30\/1213978.html?fbclid=IwAR30r3pISNmYhzqtUKU8A9xfo-WtIdGoy1E9Nhh_QcpPlg3rmsq7GLPlwmM\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">168 Hours<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and other news outlets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The information on Yerevan&#8217;s pollution is incorrect: the capital of Armenia <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/fip.am\/9591\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">is not one of the 50 most polluted cities<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lapshin&#8217;s record also contained other inaccuracies. For example, he noted that there are 20-30,000 new cases of heart attacks in Armenia annually. However, according to the Ministry of Health, this number is <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/nih.am\/assets\/pdf\/atvk\/b49a4d17ceaeb9c650b10fa6e7b83542.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">significantly lower<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There have been no arrests in the wiretapping case<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On December 5, Politik.am <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/politik.am\/vanecyanin-ev-khachatryanin-gaxtnaslats-andzy-dzerbakalvel-e-na-rd-qaxaqaci-e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that the suspect in the wiretapping of former NSS chief Arthur Vanetsyan and SIS chief Sasun Khachatryan had been arrested months earlier. The outlet added that the detainee is a citizen of Russia and a Russian by nationality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The news was false. The investigators <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.panarmenian.net\/arm\/news\/275756\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">refuted<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the information, saying there were no arrests in the criminal case.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The investigating president did not call the prosecutors a &#8220;stool&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On December 10, Zhamanak Daily <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.1in.am\/2670565.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">wrote<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that Hayk Grigoryan, the chairman of the Investigative Committee, called prosecutors &#8220;stool.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The article was <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/yn.am\/?p=100312&amp;l=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">reprinted<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> by several websites, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.irates.am\/hy\/1576182025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">cited in an article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> published on Irates.am.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On the same day, the Investigator <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.1in.am\/2670630.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">denied<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the news. By the way, the news has 4909 and the retraction &#8211; 630 views.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Armenia did not discuss the step by step settlement of the conflict<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On December 4, the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan took place in Bratislava. After the meeting, Elmar Mammadyarov stated that the Armenian side included the &#8220;Lavrov Plan&#8221; in their presentation during the talks, which implies a step-by-step solution to the conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The phased version envisages the withdrawal of Armenian troops and the return of the Azerbaijani population to Artsakh, and then only the determination of the status of Artsakh. This option is preferable for the Azerbaijani side.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Armenian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Anna Naghdalyan <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mfa.am\/hy\/press-conference\/2019\/12\/13\/briefing_spokesperson\/10014\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">refuted<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Mammadyarov&#8217;s statement. She noted that at the moment there is no document on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">WizzAir destinations are not yet known<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On December 15, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/rusarminfo.ru\/2019\/12\/13\/v-yanvare-iz-vtorogo-goroda-armenii-zapustyat-rejsy-v-london-i-parizh\/?fbclid=IwAR3NgV8xcm2nY2tyocliRAK3pua5d9plvbO7AY0w6kwfw7SxGmmI5Ovw1B8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">it was reported<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that starting January, WizzAir will operate direct flights from Gyumri to Paris and London.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Tatevik Revazyan, head of the Civil Aviation Committee, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tatevik.revazian\/posts\/10159360512018986\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">denied<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> the news. She noted that the airline will make an official announcement on the flight directions later.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">At a joint news conference with WizzAir&#8217;s representative on December 16, Revazyan <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/panarmenian.net\/m\/arm\/news\/276089\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">announced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> that the flights will start in spring and will operate to Vienna and Vilnius.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right\"><b>Karine Ghazaryan<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the first half of December, the Armenian press was discussing the visit of Arab sheiks to Yerevan, accusing soccer referee Pierluigi Collina of illegally adopting a child from Armenia and calculating the budget for the New Year&#8217;s events. Pierluigi Collina did not adopt a child from Armenia illegally On December 5, Zhoghovurd Daily wrote<a class=\"moretag\" href=\"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/verified\/2019\/12\/16\/18825\/\"> Read the full article&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":18785,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-verified","author_posts-karine-ghazaryan"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18826,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18825\/revisions\/18826"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}