The G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) report on the joint observation of Armenia’s 2026 parliamentary elections has been published on the website of the Government of Canada.
The reporting period is from January 1, 2026 to June 10, 2026. According to the report, in the months preceding the elections Armenia’s information environment was regularly targeted by foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI) operations linked to Russia and financed by the state.
In all likelihood, the manipulation networks and malicious actors tried to discredit Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the Civil Contract party by spreading claims of large-scale electoral fraud and foreign interference by the EU, as well as by presenting Russia as Armenia’s better ally.
The report cites more than 174 items linked to the Storm-1516, Operation Overload and Portal Kombat networks. In most of them Pashinyan is presented as a corrupt figure, and Russia as the sole reliable guarantor of security. The items include falsified official statements, fake investigations, videos taken out of context and created by artificial intelligence or deceptive videos, as well as fake newspaper covers.
The initial distribution was mainly on X and Telegram, with activity also recorded on TikTok, Facebook, Bluesky and Instagram.
