Day: May 16, 2026
Turkish base fake news in Armenia
For several days, a video has been circulating on social media claiming that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan allegedly signed a “secret agreement” with EU backing. The authors of the fake report claim he agreed to the deployment of a Turkish military base in Armenia.
The video provides no evidence to support the allegation.
The video first appeared on X and quickly spread across the platform. At least 15 accounts with 200,000-800,000 followers each shared it
Journalists from Factor TV contacted the Armenian prime minister’s office and were told the video about the military base was ‘yet another fabricated video.’ The media outlet’s fact-checkers also carried out a detailed analysis of the footage and presented their findings.
According to their findings:
- The English narration in the video was generated using artificial intelligence,
- The DRM News logo attributed to the publication was forged,
- And the footage itself was manipulated.
“Video about deployment of Turkish military base in Armenia is fake. It was not published by DRM News. Claims presented in it are not confirmed by other sources, and Armenian government denies signing any such agreement,” Factor TV’s fact-checkers concluded.
- Armenia under pressure from hybrid attacks: who is spreading disinformation and why
- Armenia welcomes Turkey move to lift bilateral trade ban
- What’s behind Russia’s hostile response to Armenia’s deepening ties with EU?
Video contains false claims, including alleged involvement of Volodymyr Zelensky
It cites unnamed European diplomats and claims that Armenian authorities signed a secret agreement allowing Türkiye to establish a military base near Gyumri, the second-largest city in the country.
The video further states that, at an initial stage, the base would be operated by Azerbaijani forces before later coming under Turkish control. It then concludes that the alleged agreement “marks a sharp shift for Armenia, which has long viewed Turkey and Azerbaijan as hostile states.”
Also, the fake video claims that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly played a “significant role in securing the agreement with Türkiye.” No evidence is presented for this claim either.
The video repeats false narratives that have recently been widely circulated by a number of Russian-language Telegram channels.
In particular, it claims the agreement was signed one month before Armenia’s parliamentary elections on 7 June, and alleges European diplomats assured Nikol Pashinyan that “international observers would ignore possible violations, ensuring his victory.”
Armenian fact-checkers also point out that the video uses a manipulative framing technique: false claims are interwoven with real facts to create an appearance of credibility. The real elements mentioned in the video include agreements signed at the 8th Summit of the European Political Community and at the Armenia–EU summit.
Footage of the “new base” actually comes from military exercises in Azerbaijan.
The fake content includes some real photographs. In particular, it shows images from events held in Yerevan in early May, including the 8th Summit of the European Political Community and the first Armenia–EU summit. However, it also contains staged and manipulated visuals.
According to fact-checking journalists, footage of military equipment and soldiers presented as part of the “new base” was actually filmed during military exercises held in Azerbaijan on 30 November 2021.
Real media logo used
Use of a genuine, active media outlet’s logo is one of the most common techniques in the creation of manipulative content often referred to as deepfakes, as it is intended to make a video appear more credible.
In this case, logo of DRM News was used.
Factor TV directly contacted editorial team of the outlet. In a written response, DRM News stated it has no connection to the video in question.
It was also established that DRM News had published a piece with a lead image similar to one circulated on X, although the content differs significantly.
While the X video refers to a Turkish military base, the DRM News publication in question covers a live broadcast from the Armenia–EU summit held in Yerevan.
The outlet published this report on 5 May, presenting agreements signed at the summit. The piece is titled “Armenia and EU sign connectivity agreement at first summit held in Yerevan.”
DRM News publishes news and analysis on international relations, finance, and other current affairs. The platform was launched in 2014 and distributes content mainly via YouTube and Facebook, where it has around 831,000 and 137,000 followers respectively.
These pages have previously spread false information
The 15 pages that circulated fake news about the alleged deployment of a Turkish military base in Armenia have a known history of publishing false investigations and AI-generated videos.
In particular, the same pages have previously shared disinformation claiming that Armenian authorities were preparing to cancel public commemorations for Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, and that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had handed over the “Zangezur corridor” construction project to Turkish company Limak for 40 years.
“User Truth_teller, in sharing the video, wrote ‘Zanzibar corridor’ instead of ‘Zangezur corridor’,” Factor TV reported with irony.
All video content circulated by these pages, including the clip about the alleged deployment of a Turkish military base, follows a common pattern:
- AI-generated audio
- logos of existing media outlets
- unsubstantiated claims interwoven with real facts
Georgia was not among over thirty countries that, during the May 14-15 Council of Europe meeting, expressed their intent to join the new Enlarged Partial Agreement that will pave the way to the establishment of a Special Tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
36 countries, including 34 CoE members, Australia, Costa Rica, as well as the European Union, “expressed their intention to join a new Enlarged Partial Agreement establishing the Management Committee of the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine,” CoE announced on May 15, during the annual 135th meeting of CoE Minister of Foreign Affairs in Chişinău.
The press release cited CoE Secretary General Alain Berset as saying during the meeting that those committing to the agreement “have taken a decisive step towards the actual establishment of the Special Tribunal and the recognition of responsibilities for the aggression against Ukraine.”
“Action now needs to be taken to follow up on this political commitment by securing the Tribunal’s functioning and funding. The time for Russia to be held to account for its aggression is fast approaching. The path ahead of us is one of justice – and justice must prevail,” Berset said.
Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, who took part in the meeting, explained the decision not to join the initiative with caution amid the “risks” for Georgia as well as “attitudes” from EU countries.
“The attitude towards Georgia from some members, EU members, of course, does not give us the possibility and luxury to make certain decisions, which will create additional risks and threats for our country and may place Georgia before certain heightened risks and challenges,” Botchorishvili told reporters.
Among the CoE countries that committed to the agreement were: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom.
Those not joining the initiative, alongside Georgia, included: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Hungary, Malta, North Macedonia, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, and Türkiye.
The decision came amid what looks like Ukraine-initiated efforts seeking to reset relations between Kyiv and Tbilisi, erstwhile close allies, after years of strained relations. Following a series of renewed contacts, Botchorishvili again spoke with her Ukrainian counterpart, Andrii Sybiha, during the CoE Ministers’ meeting.
Tbilisi’s move also contradicts its longtime claims that, despite unease in bilateral ties, it has supported Ukraine in international forums amid Russian aggression. Earlier, in December 2025, Georgia signed a convention establishing the International Claims Commission for Ukraine, a measure intended to ensure repayment of war damages for Ukraine amid Russian aggression.
Also Read: