Facebook fake news suspect charged after arrest in Armenia

A person detained by the National Security Service (NSS) of Armenia for spreading disinformation on Facebook as part of the probe ordered by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has been remanded into pre-trial custody, the NSS press service confirmed to Panorama.am.

NSS Director Artur Vanetsyan reported the suspect’s detention on Friday, adding he/she spread fake news on a Facebook page called “Dukhov Hayastan Open Society” ran by him.

He has been charged with inciting “ethnic, racial or religious hatred, actions aimed at racial superiority or humiliation of national dignity publicly or by mass media", punished with a jail term of up to six years.

Earlier, Pashinyan ordered the country’s security services to combat fakes, stressing “some criminal circles spend millions to manipulate the public opinion in media and on social networks” which, according to him, is an issue of national security.