Manipulation: It Was Recently Decided That Pensions Will Go Up
Verdict: Manipulation
On June 16, news spread that a "decision was made a little while ago" by the National Assembly, according to which the pensions will go up.
The information was old․ The mentioned decision regarding pensions was made in 2019; currently, the government has no plans of increasing pensions.
Clickbait sites keep systematically spreading the outdated news
Information about the increase of pensions regularly appears on clickbait sites, put forth as sensational news.
Here are just a few of the headlines in recent months:
April 1: "Awaited News for the Pensioners: The Pensions Will Go Up, The Decision Was Just a While Ago"
May 8: "Finally: "Subsidies and Pensions Will Immediately Increase By an Unbelievable 16,000..."
July 16: "Let’s Inform Everyone, The Decision Was Made Just a While Ago: The Pensions Will Go Up"
All these publications refer to the 2018-19 decision to review the amounts of pensions and subsidies. For example, this article published on June 28, 2021 quotes Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's announcement that he made in November 2018. In the most recent example, we read about the program discussed in the National Assembly back in 2019.
In all these cases, the sites do not inform the reader clearly that the information is old. Moreover, the sensational tone of the headlines creates an impression that we are talking about changes currently in sight.
In a conversation with media.am and factcheck.ge, Spokesperson to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs of Armenia, Zaruhi Manucharyan, clarified that the ministry does not currently plan to increase the pensions.
To sum up, several clickbait websites regularly publish news about the increase of pensions, without clarifying that the information is old and refers to the rise in pensions back in 2019 and not this year.
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