It’s not just political strategists who create them; almost anyone with a basic understanding of social media can contribute. The difference lies in the level of credibility. Some fakes are so well-crafted that they are nearly impossible to debunk, while others are so clumsy that the amateurishness of their creators is evident from the first words or images.
When one side feels unable to handle an adversary on its own, they often resort to “clever” schemes to recruit others to fight on their behalf. Unfortunately, our troubled neighbors frequently engage in such tactics.
A simple example: Armenians first started talking about the alleged involvement of mythical “ISIS fighters” on the side of Azerbaijan back in April 2016. The well-known Margarita Simonyan and Aram Gabrelyanov, whose text messages were leaked online, were actively discussing how to “attach” these terrorists to Azerbaijan. The goal was primitive: since ISIS is considered evil, why not turn the world against Azerbaijan by associating it with bloodthirsty terrorists? Thus, these two Armenians began promoting the narrative of “ISIS presence” and even “participation” in Karabakh, hoping the world would buy into this absurdity and sympathize with Armenians, who, clearly, were unable to face Azerbaijan’s armed forces on their own and needed external support.
As soon as the first shots of the 44-day war were fired, the same propagandist Gabrelyanov sent his team of war correspondents with the mission of finding a black cat in a dark room with an ISIS flag, even when it was clear there was no such thing. These war correspondents went to great lengths to fulfill their boss’s impossible task.
However, they failed to achieve even the minimum goal of creating fake “proofs.” Although they managed to dig up two Syrian Armenians who performed convincingly on camera as “captured ISIS fighters,” where are those supposed “captured” and “convicted” individuals now? Perhaps the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would like to pay them a visit? Numerous fake images and videos were also produced, supposedly from “Karabakh,” but they were obviously shot elsewhere. These are still being spread on Twitter and Facebook by notorious figures like Luis Ocampo, Lindsay Snell, and other empty-headed individuals who don’t realize that no ISIS fighter would ever fight for Shiites, whom they consider their worst enemies.
The grand plan also failed—no international coalition was formed to fight on Armenia’s side. The idea was simple: sit on the couch, work with Photoshop, and read about the world fighting for Armenians in Karabakh. But something went wrong.
These myths about Syrians did help Armenians in one way—they now have a reason to consider themselves not as losers of the war but as victors. After all, if “Syrian terrorists” fought for Azerbaijan, then it wasn’t a defeat, but a victory. The main thing was that Azerbaijanis weren’t alone on the battlefield. Typical Armenian nonsense! By the way, there was no need to catch ISIS fighters. Why bother showing them on air if Sergey Naryshkin said, “they’re probably there”? If he said it, then it must be true, and there’s no need to fabricate proof.
Now that the idea of “miatsum” (reunification) is completely buried, and the issue of Zangezur and correcting the historical injustice of 1920 is on the horizon, Armenians have decided to call on the Iranians for help. Since the international coalition didn’t materialize in 2020, they now hope to convince the Iranians to shed their blood for them. The “black cat in a dark room” has now become the “Zionists,” who supposedly “opened” secret bases in Karabakh from which they “attack” Iran. However, these bases are so “secret” that no one can locate them on Google Earth.
Gabrelyanovs and Simonyans don’t seem to realize how ridiculous they make themselves look. It turns out, ISIS fought to hand Karabakh over to the Zionists?
It’s no secret that well-crafted fakes are an important tool in politics. But only those fakes that surface 50-100 years later can be considered truly effective. Entire research institutes, experts, and professionals work on creating such fakes. But when the long ears of a lie become visible from the first lines or frames, it’s no longer art but pure clownery. The chaos created by Armenian fake-makers can be described as nothing but clownery.
Zuhrab Dadashov
Translated from minval.az
