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A media research initiative that investigates Russian disinformation propaganda has uncovered a new attack against Armenia by the Storm-1516 propaganda network.
Media expert Artur Papyan shared the findings of the Gnida Project online.
According to the report, the fake news campaign targeting Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan began on a Turkish-language website called ODATV, which published a false report claiming that Yerevan plans to surrender territory to Azerbaijan and Türkiye.
Pashinyan’s office has denied the ODATV report as fake news.
ODATV has previously been linked to Russian disinformation campaigns, notably those targeting Ukraine, the report said.
The next phase of the campaign shifted to X (formerly Twitter), a common tactic used by Storm-1516, according to Papyan. The disinformation effort relies on fake accounts attempting to mimic legitimate news.
“Several anonymous accounts are sharing an English-language video that repeats the same claims. The usernames of these X accounts are mostly in English — some sound like news outlet names, while others include terms commonly used in right-wing or conservative circles, such as patriot and truth. In several cases, the usernames are accompanied by the flags of Russia and/or the United States,” Papyan said in a statement.
Storm-1516 was identified by a team of media forensics researchers at Clemson University in the fall of 2023. It is a Russian-linked disinformation network that spreads false or misleading information online to influence public opinion, especially in Western countries, according to open-source reports.
The group has created fake news websites, impersonated journalists, and used AI-generated videos and posts to attack European and U.S. political figures — including fabricating stories during election campaigns.