Fact-checkers debunk reports of Turkish military base deployment in Armenia as fake
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.
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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
