The programs coordinator at Union of Informed Citizens, Daniel Ioannisyan, presented the results of a survey on the use of the media in Armenia and a study on the level of fake news. According to the results, the majority of people said that they trust their family members to provide them with news. Daniel Ioannisyan said, “They might have read something on Facebook, but that doesn’t mean that they trust it. The level of trust toward different officials’ live videos is higher than it is toward social media. 77 percent of the participants trust the news on television. The leading television channel is a tie between Shant and Armenia and next is the Public TV Company. Unlike television, people usually read online newspapers on workdays. They prefer the Armenian Times, Aravot Daily, Iravunk, Yeter, Zhoghovurd, 168 Hours, and others.”
Facebook is the leading social media site followed by Instagram. The next question was regarding media literacy. Yerevan was in first place in terms of the level of media literacy, followed by the Lori region, with the Kotayk region in 3rd place. The Syunik and Ararat regions had the lowest ratings. And according to the study, those who follow the Armenian Revolutionary Federation have the highest level of media literacy, followed by Bright Armenia supporters, My Step supporters, and Republican supporters.
When answering the question “If you had the opportunity to do so, would you leave Armenia to live somewhere else?”, 69.4 percent of participants said ‘no,’ whereas 20 percent said ‘yes.’ In comparison with results that were recorded in the past, Daniel Ioannisyan said, “Approximately 37-40 percent of people who wanted to emigrate changed their minds over the past year and a half.”
Regarding the level of trust people have toward state bodies, Daniel Ioannisyan said, “The judicial system has the lowest level of trust. This was not a surprise. After that was the institution of political parties. Trust toward the Armed Forces remains at a high level. The level of trust toward the parliament is not that high. The public accepts that it gives a mandate to people, not to the parliament or political parties.”
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Tatev Harutyunyan
