YEREVAN, February 5. /ARKA/. Fake news and spread of disinformation on social networks and media in Armenia grew substantially in 2018, according to Haykaz Baghyan, the head of the STEM program center.

Speaking at a press conference today, dedicated to the International Day of Safe Internet, which has been celebrated since 2004 on the second Tuesday of February, he said the INSAFE pan-European initiative, expanding year after year, brings people together to combat illegal, malicious and irrelevant content.

He said there are foreign media in Armenia that pursue their goals, and there are local mass media that spread disinformation.

 ‘The emphasis when submitting information depends on the choice of editors,” said Baghyan, noting that the main target is politics, but the coverage of other areas is also politicized.

In turn, the coordinator of the Safe Internet program Narine Khachatryan noted that a significant flow of misinformation comes from abroad. In this context, she noted that increasing media literacy plays an important role in combating this negative phenomenon. -0-