Political consultant and CivilNet host Eric Hacopian gives his take on the numerous misinformation and disinformation campaigns within the Armenian community. Eric also speaks on the popular fears in Armenia, and the buzzwords of Armenian politics.
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How an NBA coach is transforming Armenian basketball
Rex Kalamian, assistant coach of the Milwaukee Bucks and head coach of Armenia’s national basketball team, shares how he’s using his NBA experience to build Armenia’s basketball program from the ground up. Kalamian offers insights into his recruiting process and what he’s learned working with some of the biggest names in the game. He also reflects on what representing Armenia means to him as the grandson of a genocide survivor and the profound impact his work in the country has had on him. 0:00- Introduction 0:44- How he became the national team’s coach 2:08- The Process 4:09- On coaching famous […]
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Armenia joins global fight against disinformation at GlobalFact 12
For the first time, an Armenian media outlet participated in the largest gathering of fact checkers worldwide – the International Fact-Checking Network GlobalFact 12 Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro last month. CivilNet’s presence marked a historic step for Armenia’s fact‑checking community and a milestone in the country’s fight against misinformation. Hosted by the International Fact‑Checking Network (IFCN), GlobalFact 12 brought together over 300 investigators from around the globe, featured more than 80 speakers and 40 sessions on strengthening global fact‑checking through collaboration, training, and innovation. CivilNet was represented by Ani Grigoryan, head of the outlet’s fact‑checking unit, who returned with valuable […]
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Prime Minister Pashinyan sues Hraparak daily for defamation
By Siranush Adamyan Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has filed a defamation lawsuit against Hraparak daily, requesting a public retraction and 1 million drams (US$2,600) in non-material damages over an article that questioned his personal and moral integrity. According to court records reviewed by Hetq, the lawsuit was submitted to Yerevan’s Court of General Jurisdiction on July 4. The article in question, published in 2025, speculated on the Prime Minister’s private life, citing rumors that he had been spending extended periods behind closed doors with his press secretary. Hraparak claimed that such questions about the Prime Minister’s personal conduct were […]
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Kapan Music Festival kicks off, with Martha Argerich as special
By Lia Avagyan World-renowned pianist Martha Argerich is set to perform in Armenia’s southern city of Kapan on July 12, headlining the third edition of the Kapan International Music Festival, which opened on July 4. Argerich will appear under the banner “Martha Argerich and Friends,” joined by a roster of acclaimed artists including Marian Petrescu, Arturo Soler, Francesco Villa, Dong-Hyek Lim, and Lida Chen Argerich. Held in Armenia’s Syunik region, the festival will continue through July 15, closing with a “Symphonies and Concertos” program featuring Argerich and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sergey Smbatyan. The 12-day festival includes […]
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Court orders Yerevan mayor’s father to pay damages over derogatory
By Gevorg Tosunyan Yerevan court has ordered the father of the city’s mayor to pay damages for publicly insulting drivers of Opel cars, in a ruling that has drawn attention to growing discontent over steep parking fee hikes in the Armenian capital. On July 4, the Civil Court of General Jurisdiction of Yerevan partially upheld a defamation suit filed by opposition city council member Grigor Iskandaryan against Armen Avinyan, the father of Mayor Tigran Avinyan. The court ruled that Armen Avinyan must pay 250,000 Armenian drams (about $650) for damaging Iskandaryan’s honor and dignity. The case stemmed from a controversial […]
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Erdogan says Armenia more flexible on corridor, Yerevan insists on
By Lia Avagyan Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Armenia is displaying a “more flexible” attitude toward joining economic integration plans built around the proposed “Zangezur corridor,” even as Yerevan stressed that any new transport link must remain under Armenian jurisdiction. Speaking to reporters aboard his plane after a visit to Azerbaijan, Erdogan described the east-west route – which would connect mainland Azerbaijan to its Nakhchivan exclave across Armenia’s Syunik province – as part of a looming “geo-economic revolution.” “The corridor offers opportunities not only for Azerbaijan but for the entire region,” Erdogan said, according to the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency. […]
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Ani Cathedral conservation project misreported as mosque conversion
By Hayk Hovhannisyan, #CivilNetCheck On July 3, numerous Armenian news outlets reported that the Cathedral of Ani, a medieval Armenian church located in present-day eastern Turkey, was going to reopen as a mosque following an ongoing restoration. The original claim appeared on the Armenian news outlet Ermenihaber.am, which referenced a report from Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. This claim was quickly amplified by a range of Armenian media outlets including Factor.am, Aravot.am, News.am, Pan.am, Mamul.am, Yerevan.Today, 168.am, Aysor.am, and others. CivilNetCheck reviewed the facts and traced how the misleading narrative spread. What did Turkish sources report? The July 3 article by […]
