Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has criticized on Twitter the Armenian government’s decision to place restrictions on information posts.
On March 16, RSF posted:
“Armenia declares state of emergency and compels media to quote only official sources. Controlling infos doesn’t help to fight epidemia but spread rumors and fear!”
As of March 18, the official website of RSF has no mentions about the state of emergency in Armenia.
In particular, the Armenian government’s statement regarding the state of emergency reads:
“If individuals and media outlets wish to publish information about previously confirmed and new coronavirus cases, the condition of the patients, sources of infections and the number of isolated individuals online, including social media platforms, they should use solely the official data provided by the commandant’s office, refer to it, and keep their statements as close to the original wording of the statements of the commandant’s office.
The publications by individuals and media cannot contradict official information. The same concerns publications that cause panic or pose a threat of causing panic.
Such publications must be deleted immediately by the authors.”
Source: Mediamax.am
