From 21 to 31 July, 2019, the “Media Advocate” initiative followed online media reports on the Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, Lilit Makunts’s personality and activities.
35 leading Armenian news agencies have been monitored.
In the specified period, 67 articles were declared, 54 of which were negative, 2 were positive and 11 were neutral.
Lilit Makunts, the leader of the ruling faction, surpassed all the monitored politicians by number of negative articles. Civil Contract’s PR team also faces a problem in this regard: the party has to balance the situation with its steps.
Lilit Makunts has been criticized for visiting “Kilikia” brewery with her colleagues: the brewery is owned by former Republican MP Hakob Hakobyan. The media questioned the reason they had visited there.
In addition, media outlets report that Lilit Makunts calls her faction MPs who are against the Istanbul Convention and urges them not to speak out against it.
As in Alen Simonyan’s case, Lilit Makunts has also been regarded when comparing the parliaments of the 6th and 7th convocations: Lilit Makunts has also been considered a passive politician.
The CC team and the “My Step” Alliance should be able to balance their ratings in the media with their moves, otherwise the crisis will only deepen.
