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The Kremlin-linked “Storm 1516” network has shared a new AI-generated fake video on X targeting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, falsely depicting him hitting a young child.
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The original video was made on May 30, 2025, during Pashinyan’s visit to the “Zangak” kindergarten in Gyumri. In the video, Pashinyan interacts with children and hugs a crying child. Contrary to the AI-manipulated version, he does not strike the child.
In effect, the Kremlin’s bot network has launched yet another disinformation campaign targeting Pashinyan.
Notably, for the first time, there are Armenian-language comments under the relevant posts on X. These comments also appear to have been generated by bots and were posted in a coordinated manner within the same timeframe.
The comments criticizing Pashinyan are nearly identical, with the same sentence repeatedly posted by multiple bot accounts.
Thus, as part of a Kremlin-backed disinformation campaign, bot-operated accounts have been sharing yet another fake news about Pashinyan, also making coordinated Armenian-language comments under the relevant posts.
Nane Manasyan
