00:03Welcome to Euronews fact-checking show, The Cube.
00:06As Armenia heads towards parliamentary elections in early June, disinformation campaigns linked to pro-Kremlin actors have dedicated substantial efforts
00:14to sway the vote.
00:16One of the claims suggested that there could be a possible war between Armenia and Russia should candidate and current
00:21Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan win the vote.
00:24The campaign began in early March and among the fabricated clips, 12 falsely claimed that Pashinyan and French President Emmanuel
00:31Macron had agreed a secret deal, French support in the elections in exchange for Armenia launching a war against Russia
00:38after victory.
00:39On the 11th of May, a video falsely claimed that Pashinyan's press secretary had confirmed the presence of NATO instructors
00:45in Armenia and that following the parliamentary elections, he would provoke a military conflict with Russia.
00:51But why is Armenia being targeted by pro-Kremlin bots?
00:55The campaign has a reason against a backdrop of deepening EU-Armenia relations.
00:59In early May, the country hosted the first EU-Armenia summit where European Council President Antonio Costa reaffirmed the EU's
01:07commitment to strengthening ties with Yervan.
01:10In 2025, Armenia's parliament also adopted a law launching the EU access-earn process.
01:15Two months after the campaign began and just days after the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin drew a comparison between
01:22Armenia and Ukraine, stating that Armenia may experience similar consequences as Ukraine did following its attempt to join the EU.
01:30In total, 343 fake videos related to Armenia and Pashinyan were identified as circulating in early May.
01:39The pro-Kremlin Matryoshka network, which researchers say organized this campaign, has been active in other elections, such as in
01:46Poland, Germany and the US.
01:48But according to experts, the scale of this campaign is second only to that scene during Moldova's 2025 election.
01:58We'll see you next time.
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