A project
A project
The ICFJ and IJNet Global Health Crisis Reporting Forum is a position where journalists around the world can report on the effect of COVID-19 on their country and on their paintings. This is the fourth in a series of articles through which we take a closer look at the individual stories and paintings of the Forum’s hounds.
This article belongs to our online COVID-19 reporting policy. To see more resources, click here.
Investigative journalist Ani Mejlumyan recalls the emergence of COVID-19. The day after Armenia declared a state of emergency in mid-March, the government censored the media to prevent them from reporting on the pandemic. it stayed open for ten days.
As Eurasianet’s lead correspondent, Mejlumyan writes in-depth research and research articles about Armenia for a foreign audience. As the pandemic spread around the world in March, he wrote about the harassment and threats faced by hounds through police for covering the fitness crisis. as it arose in his country.
Mejlumyan says that the government’s ban on the media was not instituted to protect the safety of fellow Armenians, but to protect the safety of fellow Armenians. virus and prevent other people from panicking.
Armenians condemned the media ban and thanks to foreign pressure, the government nevertheless lifted it in mid-April, however, because the data had not been disclosed to journalists, Armenians did not perceive the severity of the pandemic. until it started them personally.
“For me, that’s the biggest problem, ” said Mejlumyan. ” People didn’t see the genuine coVID-19 symbol. People wondered if it existed even until their circle of relatives or neighbors were sick.
With nearly 46,000 cases shown and more than 900 deaths shown in Armenia today, COVID-19 lifestyles can no longer be reliably denied. “By not allowing pandemic hounds, the public has lost access to important information,” he said. . ” People needed to be afraid. They needed to panic a little bit to realize that each and every resolution they make can have consequences.
The Armenian government has doubted its technique for containing the COVID-19 crisis, Mejlumyan said. For example, he replaced his position of dressing with the mask several times. Although masks are now mandatory in public spaces, the government in the past begged only with health problems other people should wear masks in public. Today, videos circulating online show police beating other people for not dressing in masks in public.
Mejlumyan wounds Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. ” At the beginning of the pandemic, the prime minister took it seriously. He said, “What can the pandemic do to us?” recalled Mejlumyan. In early June, Pashinyan tested positive for COVID. 19.
In his report on the pandemic, Mejlumyan recommended: “First, look at the data. Ask governments to keep the full data, and then contact doctors and patients. Try to get the most stories. “
However, access to knowledge has been a challenge in Armenia, as the government has ignored requests for numbers from informants, Mejlumyan said. To fill this gap, she and other hounds are watching government press conferences to stay on top of events.
They also stop at government officials’ Facebook pages to locate vital numbers, such as the number of others in serious conditions. “Whatever’s missing, I’m in touch with my colleagues and we share the percentage data,” he said.
Government efforts to pass laws secretly under the appearance of emergency disorders are also a trend that Mejlumyan follows. “Most of them don’t even have emergency items,” he says. An example is the law proposed by Armenia to weaken the country’s freedom of freedom. data law, which Mejlumyan covered in a report in April.
Eurasianet readers can use the to read about how the Armenian government is handling the pandemic, and Mejlumyan believes it is a useful platform for foreigners to monitor whether Armenian leaders are slipping towards authoritarian measures that may endanger the democracy of the country. nor anti-government, so we can look at the problems freely, “he said.
When Armenian Health Minister Arsen Torosyan announced in May that newly inflamed patients would be treated at home, Mejlumyan investigated the government’s position and discovered that hospitals in Armenia were achieving results and patients died in hospitals due to a lack of beds.
“The media wants to make enough noise so that the government can do anything about it,” Mejlumyan said. “Why are we expanding the capacity? Why don’t we act fast enough? “
Mejlumyan pleaded with his fellow reporters to collaborate and verify the facts by reporting on today’s fitness crisis and other urgent problems. “Even if you think you know something, do your homework and see it participating with the valid media in your country. Anything you write can damage you, ruin your reputation and damage your media. “It is very important to spend time verifying the facts,” Mejlumyan said. Without fact-checking, hounds can perpetuate incorrect information by mentioning government officials who do it themselves, he continued, adding that only applying an “agreement” is not enough, when credible figures are not the source of the information.
The ICFJ Forum on the Global Health Crisis Report is a way for Mejlumyan to stay informed about COVID-19 and interact with other journalists covering the fitness crisis. “Since ICFJ created the pandemic crisis group, I have followed what the experts say, the progress that exists and the general discussion among newscasts around the world,” he said.
Mejlumyan also has resources from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), an investigative reporting platform that focuses on reporting organized crime and corruption. “If it’s an emergency, they have a total network of hounds to help you determine the facts and look for the databases,” he said.
Journalism is not an individual job, however, many local media outlets in Armenia do not have editors or fact-checkers, Mejlumyan said. Those who don’t pay them well or don’t pay them anything. Through effective fact-checking and collaboration, hounds can report their reports and help education in public media, he says.
Despite the difficulties of the data industry today, Mejlumyan told IJNet: “I would be so dissatisfied if I had to quit journalism. “
Tedi Doychinova is a program officer at ICFJ.
Main photo via Ani Mejlumyan.