{"id":46306,"date":"2026-06-15T22:16:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T22:16:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/media.am\/?p=46306"},"modified":"2026-06-17T19:59:39","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T19:59:39","slug":"before-the-campaign-what-news-kept-quiet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/verified\/2026\/06\/15\/46306\/","title":{"rendered":"Before The Campaign: What “News” Kept Quiet"},"content":{"rendered":"

The official pre-election campaign for the National Assembly elections in Armenia began<\/a> on May 8. However, many parties had already begun their political activities, engaging with citizens in Yerevan and the regions to discuss their programs.<\/p>\n

One of these parties is the Civil Contract, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who announced<\/a> the start of an intra-party campaign on February 28.<\/p>\n

It is worth mentioning that, unlike the official campaign period, the media’s coverage of political activities during the pre-election period is not regulated by law. With this in mind, this publication explores how the Public Television Company\u2019s News program reported on the intra-party campaign of the Civil Contract party and the activities of other political forces over the past weekends.<\/p>\n

Previously, in a Verified article,<\/a> we analysed how Armenia’s only state news agency, Armenpress, covered the pre-election political situation. Our findings revealed a significant imbalance in the coverage favouring the ruling party, Civil Contract, over the opposition forces.<\/p>\n

About Public TV<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first broadcast of public television occurred in 1956. It is now fully owned<\/a> by the Republic of Armenia. The Council<\/a> of Public Broadcasters conducts management and oversight.<\/p>\n

The First News Channel was established<\/a> in 2021 and is responsible for producing the news program. In 2026, a total of 6 billion, 578 million, and 17 thousand drams was allocated<\/a> from the state budget for general and news-oriented television services. (See table line 935)<\/p>\n

According to Articles 5 and 6 of Law 2<\/a>2 on Media Broadcasting, public broadcasters must adhere to the principles of objectivity, impartiality, diversity, and pluralism. They must also ensure a diverse presentation of opinions on matters of public significance.<\/p>\n

In March, the Independent Observer public alliance released a report<\/a> stating that an analysis of Public Television’s YouTube channel revealed a considerable amount of political content with a propagandistic tone, primarily related to the Civil Contract party. Meanwhile, the report noted that coverage of opposition forces tended to be predominantly negative and anti-propaganda-biased.<\/p>\n

How the Data Was Collected<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We reviewed<\/a> all episodes of the Public Television news program aired on Saturdays (10 episodes) and Sundays (9 episodes) from March 1 to May 8. We chose these specific days because Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held intra-party campaign meetings on those dates, and the official campaign launched on May 8. Additionally, we monitored videos published on YouTube.<\/p>\n

Our study focused not only on reports related to the intra-party campaign but also on other news stories to better understand their correlations with various topics.<\/p>\n

What was unveiled<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In 14 of 19 issues, a significant portion of the airtime was devoted to the “Civil Contract” (CC) intra-party campaign and to Nikol Pashinyan’s meetings with citizens. Notably, in almost all cases, the segment on the party’s campaign was presented as the opening report. The only exception was in the March 1 issue<\/a>, where the discussion began with the war in Iran and the events of March 1, 2008, followed by coverage of the Prime Minister’s visit to Lori and Tavush. In all other instances, this sequence was preserved even in the face of significant regional events. For example, on April 11 and 12, when Iranian and U.S. negotiators convened in Islamabad amid a month-and-a-half-long war, the news was featured<\/a> only in the international news section. In contrast, during the same issue<\/a>, approximately 14 minutes were devoted to the Civil Contract’s intra-party campaign.<\/p>\n

The duration of the reports is quite remarkable. The shortest video was the report<\/a> on the Prime Minister’s motorcade from Ashtarak to Gyumri, which aired on April 19 and lasted 8 minutes and 35 seconds. The total duration of that release was 50 minutes and 10 seconds. In contrast, the longest report was titled “Civil Contract Intra-Party Campaign in Yerevan,” which was broadcast<\/a> on March 22 and lasted 18 minutes and 57 seconds, within a 59.16-minute program. Although there were instances when the Civil Contract party’s airtime was longer, that content was split across several reports. For example, in the April 25 broadcast<\/a>, separate segments addressed various topics, including the Prime Minister’s speech in Maralik, events titled “We Are Our State,” and meetings between the Prime Minister and citizens in Maralik and Artik. Additionally, the report covered the Prime Minister’s comments regarding the announcement of the force led by Karapetyan. Overall, these topics were allocated 21 minutes and 42 seconds of airtime in a 44.25-minute broadcast.<\/p>\n

Programs that may not directly address the Civil Contract campaign still reflect Nikol Pashinyan’s policies and critique the opposition. For instance, on March 8<\/a>, the presenter mentioned the peace agreement initialed by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the United States in August 2025, stating, “Armenia is experiencing its own unique period of peace.” The program also discussed<\/a> the role of artificial intelligence during the pre-election period, with the presenter asking, “Where do the traces lead?” when the leaders of the Strong Armenia bloc, Samvel Karapetyan and Narek Karapetyan, appeared on screen.<\/p>\n

During the announcement of the April 18 program’s headlines, the presenter stated that the elite of the “Three-Headed monster of War” were labelling their voters. This was followed by a quote from Nikol Pashinyan’s briefing after a government session: “I call on all the citizens of the Republic of Armenia to demonstrate through their political stance who the real scoundrels are.” The presenter added, “Nikol Pashinyan has a long list of people acting on the agenda of other countries.” During the report, Pashinyan was also quoted saying:  “none of the three parties will pass the entry threshold,” referring to the Republican Party, the Armenia alliance, and the Prosperous Armenia Party.<\/p>\n

This example illustrates that airtime on News has been used to promote Pashinyan’s views and those of the Civil Contract, even when not directly related to internal party issues.<\/p>\n

The titles of YouTube videos from these broadcasts primarily reference reports on the Civil Contract campaign itself. For example, titles included: “This is the Real Armenia: Peaceful, Secure, Developing,” “The Prime Minister’s Visit to Tavush Region,” “The Starting Point is the State: Syunik Residents Welcome the Prime Minister’s Position,” and “You Are Obligated to be Re-elected; the Pack is Waiting for Your Defeat: the Citizen told the Prime Minister.” The messages in these titles consistently align with the ideas of the Civil Contract and support it as a political force.<\/p>\n

April 4th broadcast<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

April 4 was a notably active day in Armenia’s political landscape. On that day, both the Civil Contract Party and the Republican Party of Armenia held congresses. Leaders Nikol Pashinyan and Serzh Sargsyan, along with other party representatives, delivered speeches during the events.<\/p>\n

Public TV covered the congress of the Civil Contract with 4 different reports<\/a>: “Nikol Pashinyan, the candidate for the Prime Minister of CC”, “The Prime Minister’s speech at the extraordinary congress”, “Important highlights of the briefing of the NA Speaker” and “Papoyan on the possible increase in the price of gas and gasoline”. The total duration of the first two reports was 13 minutes, and the speeches of Alen Simonyan and Gevorg Papoyan were covered for 7 minutes and 26 seconds (more than 20 minutes were allocated to coverage of the ruling party’s congress).<\/p>\n

Only 1 minute and 28 seconds of airtime was allocated to the Republican Party’s congress. According to the news outlet, “With 438 votes in favour and three against, Serzh Sargsyan was re-elected as the chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia.” During the congress, Sargsyan expressed his gratitude for the support he received. He then spoke at a briefing about the Republican Party’s decision not to participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections. He assured that their supporters’ votes would not be wasted but would instead be counted alongside those of the opposition. When asked which specific opposition force they would support, Sargsyan replied, “The process will show.” In response to questions about supporting forces led by Arman Tatoyan or Samvel Karapetyan, Sargsyan remarked, “I don’t hold those votes in my pocket to give to someone. During the campaign, I believe our people will decide. If there is a need for an additional statement, I will definitely make one, but I don’t think that will be necessary.”<\/p>\n

The total duration of the broadcast was 40 minutes.<\/p>\n

The opposition coverage<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the broadcasts we reviewed, coverage of opposition forces is either scarce or entirely missing. Political parties such as the Armenia Alliance, Strong Armenia, Prosperous Armenia, and the Republican Party are primarily portrayed in a negative light, with little to no mention of other groups participating in the elections. Overall, the discussions surrounding the opposition are consistently negative.<\/p>\n

The report<\/a> titled “Experts’ Predictions about the Opposition,” broadcast on April 12, is quite noteworthy. The first part of this 12-minute and 25-second segment highlights the current conflict between opposition parties, primarily the Armenia alliance and the Republican Party of Armenia, particularly regarding accountability for Nikol Pashinyan’s rise to power. Hovsep Khurshudyan, the president of the Free Citizen NGO, serves as an expert in this discussion. He suggests that the ongoing debates will persist only until they reach the parliament. After that, he believes the factions will unite, as they are not truly independent, paralleling the scenario of Gyumri 2. Arnold Bleyan, the head of the Armenian Centre for Democracy and Security and a member of the For the Republic party, also contributes to the report. He supports Khurshudyan’s views, emphasising the importance of a shift in the opposition within the National Assembly of Armenia. Bleyan argues that such a change would enhance the effectiveness of the ruling party. He insists that discussions in the National Assembly should focus on issues related to the permanence of the Republic of Armenia rather than the disparaging remarks often heard from the opposition, such as “thief” and “bald dog” (a colloquial insult). He believes that each party should be judged based on both its past and present actions. Overall, even among experts, the focus remains solely on criticising the opposition. <\/p>\n

In one of the reports broadcast<\/a> on March 22, it is mentioned that, according to studies, opposition parties spend the most on advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms. At the same time, it is emphasised that, without any advertising, Pashinyan’s Facebook and Instagram pages together had, as of March 19, 148 million 800 thousand views.<\/p>\n

In the March 29 News broadcast, the abundance of public opinion polls before the pre-election campaign are discussed.<\/a> It is noted that, according to experts, the culture of “ordered” polling was introduced in Armenia during Robert Kocharyan’s tenure. The report states that ahead of the upcoming 2026 parliamentary elections, the newly created political force of Russian businessman Samvel Karapetyan is also publishing polls. “According to experts, the behaviour of the opposition has reasons. Their chances of entering the parliament are not very high, and they want to show that they are the leaders in public opinion polls.”<\/p>\n

Opposition is also targeted, directly or indirectly, during the April 5 release. A separate report<\/a> examines the violence cases recorded against journalists in Armenia in different years. It is noted that “representatives of the field state that the monstrous cases of violence against journalists mainly occurred after 1998, that is, during the administration of Robert Kocharyan. Several cases recorded during the third president, Serzh Sargsyan’s term, are also mentioned, as is the fact that in 2000, about 30 supporters of Gagik Tsarukyan invaded the editorial office of “Haykakan Zamanak”.<\/p>\n

“As for the period following the revolution of 2018, the organisation documenting the incidents points to two incidents against journalists, one of which was initiated by the assistant of the opposition MP Levon Kocharian, and in the second case, the act was committed by an unknown masked person,” the report says. Although various incidents are mentioned, the material does not mention the scandalous incident when Hakob Arshakyan, a member of Civil Contract and, at that time, the Minister of High-tech Industry, used violence against the journalist Paylak Fahradyan. The Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression documented<\/a> the incident. “This was an unprecedented case during all the observations of the CPFE, when a member of the government got physical while interacting with a media representative. “After months of research and preliminary investigation, the criminal case was dismissed based on the lack of criminality,” the annual report of the organisation stated<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Coverage of the debate between a woman who was displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and the Prime Minister<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On March 22, Nikol Pashinyan’s action in the Yerevan metro turned into a heated debate. The Prime Minister offered<\/a> to give a child a badge in the form of a map, but his mother refused, noting that they were from Artsakh and had a different map. Pashinyan told the woman during the argument, “Don\u2019t try to say with those who fled that I gave Karabakh.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Channel One reported<\/a> on the incident, noting that most citizens welcomed the map-shaped badges symbolising Armenia, though a few exceptions occurred. A woman displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh explained her refusal of the gift by saying, “To be honest, we have a different map.”<\/p>\n

After a few seconds of intense dialogue, Nikol Pashinyan delivers his speech: “Today, tens of thousands of Karabakh residents have received Armenian citizenship and are settling in Armenia. […] I ask you for just one thing: we must put an end to this trend of emigration and work towards calming the situation.”<\/p>\n

The news coverage fails to mention that Prime Minister Pashinyan refers to those displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh as “refugees.” Additionally, it does not report on the Human Rights Defender’s earlier statement<\/a> that day, which emphasised the importance of communicating with forcibly displaced persons and refugees with the utmost sensitivity, given their vulnerable circumstances. Towards the end of the nearly 19-minute report on the intra-party campaign in Yerevan, Pashinyan’s apology is presented, accompanied by comments from NA Speaker Alen Simonyan, stating, “Working live without the use of technology can create undesirable situations.”<\/p>\n

Based on the facts presented and the monitoring results, we conclude that the Public Television News program did not adhere to the established principles of objectivity and pluralism during the pre-election period. There was an uneven distribution of airtime, with a clear preference for the ruling political party’s campaign and negative coverage of opposition forces, all of which indicate content bias. Additionally, the selective presentation of high-profile incidents and the omission of unfavourable events involving government representatives demonstrate that this state-funded media outlet was primarily used to promote the Civil Contract party’s political agenda and views.<\/p>\n

Public TV’s response<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Media.am submitted a request to the Public Television Company for comments on the “Independent Observer” report before the upcoming election campaign. Specifically, we inquired about how the Public Television Company ensures balanced and unbiased coverage of political parties before the campaign begins. In response, we received brief answers to our four questions.<\/p>\n

The Public Television Company stated, “During the pre-election campaign, we followed the RA Electoral Code and the constitutional law, fully adhering to their requirements and conditions. We also want to emphasise that we have repeatedly invited various political parties, including opposition groups, to present their views on Public TV in different formats. However, many of these parties, especially those in the opposition, often declined these opportunities.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The official pre-election campaign for the National Assembly elections in Armenia began on May 8. However, many parties had already begun their political activities, engaging with citizens in Yerevan and the regions to discuss their programs. One of these parties is the Civil Contract, led by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who announced the start of Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":46261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[212,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-post","category-verified"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46306","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\/186"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46306"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46468,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46306\/revisions\/46468"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/media.am\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}