Culture of consuming information - on a low level in Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Very often, people in Armenia trust unreliable foreign sources rather than local media," Deputy Head of Armenian Public Relations Association Arman Saghatelyan said.



To avoid such sources' influence on public in information war circumstances, Sagatelyan emphasized journalists' role and professionalism which may help society distinguish between information and disinformation. "Secondly, it is necessary to disallow publication of low quality analytical works which also produces a negative impact on Armenian society's culture of consuming information," he noted.



Saghatelyan also stressed the importance of not confusing journalism with information warfare since these are different spheres with different methodologies and mechanisms. "It would be good if our journalists were aware of such mechanisms to be able to differentiate reliable information from propaganda," he stressed.



With regard to Armenian media's current situation, Deputy Head of Association noted that over the past year the number of Armenian Web sites has increased by 5-6 times, while the number of satellite TV channels has increased from 1 to 3. "That's a fair example that we are making progress in the sphere," Saghatelyan added.