Associated Press' coverage of the Armenian Genocide
Associated Press' coverage of the Armenian Genocide
Statement by Vic Gerami, Founder and Chair of Truth And Accountability League (TAAL), on Associated Press coverage of the Armenian Genocide
The Associated Press proudly markets itself as independent, nonpartisan, and factual, a standard it claims to have upheld since 1846. It describes itself as the most trusted source of factual news in all formats. Yet Bill Barrow’s recent article on Vice President JD Vance’s Armenian Genocide post falls strikingly short of those principles and instead reflects the very distortions, omissions, and narrative shaping that Armenians and genocide scholars have confronted for over a century.
“When a news organization that brands itself as the gold standard of accuracy tiptoes around the word genocide, it is not practicing caution. It is practicing avoidance,” said Vic Gerami.
For descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors, the patterns are familiar. The selective wording. The euphemisms. The careful distancing from the word genocide even when it is historically, academically, and legally supported. One reads Barrow’s piece and could easily mistake it for messaging crafted to align with the long standing denial frameworks promoted by the Turkish and Azerbaijani states and their affiliated influence networks. Whether intentional or not, the effect is the same. It dilutes truth and legitimizes denialist language.
Armenians are not strangers to problematic coverage from major outlets, including the AP. Many in our community recall AP’s framing during the Artsakh Genocide and the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Artsakh, where linguistic minimization and false equivalencies too often replaced moral clarity. When the forced displacement of an indigenous population is described in diluted or ambiguous terms, it weakens public understanding of the severity of the injustice.
“That kind of reporting does not merely misinform. It conditions audiences to see atrocity as ambiguity and suffering as a matter of interpretation,” Gerami said.
That this pattern continues even after formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the United States and more than thirty five countries, along with recognition by leading genocide scholars and human rights institutions worldwide, raises serious questions about editorial judgment.
Barrow opens by describing the Armenian Genocide as “early 20th century Armenians killed by the Ottoman Empire.” This phrasing mirrors language long favored by denialist circles. It abstracts perpetrators into an empire while carefully sidestepping the ethnic and political leadership responsible for orchestrating extermination policies. The Ottoman state was governed by Turkish leadership, and it is not historical bigotry to state that fact. It is historical literacy.
He further writes that the term Armenian Genocide has not historically been used by the U.S. government except for a notable exception under President Biden. This framing is conspicuously incomplete. In 2019, the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate formally recognized the Armenian Genocide with overwhelming bipartisan support. That is not a footnote. That is the official legislative position of the United States. To mention reluctance without equally emphasizing recognition creates a skewed narrative.
“Selective context is one of the oldest tools of denial. What is left out can be just as misleading as what is stated,” Gerami added.
Barrow’s assertion that genocide is a fraught and legally distinct term is presented as cautionary wisdom. Yet dozens of governments, genocide prevention bodies, and international scholars use the term Armenian Genocide without hesitation because the evidentiary record is overwhelming. If so many credible institutions have reached consensus, the question is not why they use the term. The question is why the AP still appears uncomfortable doing so.
Minimization reaches a troubling point when the article refers to many thousands of Armenians dying, only to later cite figures approaching or exceeding one million. The historical consensus places the death toll at approximately 1.5 million. Language matters. Scale matters. Precision matters. When numbers shrink rhetorically, so does perceived gravity.
The suggestion that this remains primarily a political or rhetorical dispute among Armenian Americans ignores a century of scholarship, documentation, survivor testimony, and international recognition. It reframes a documented genocide as a matter of community perception rather than historical record.
What emerges is not neutral journalism but narrative management. It is a style of reporting that places diplomatic sensitivities and geopolitical discomfort ahead of moral clarity. It is the kind of framing that has, intentionally or not, enabled denial to survive for generations.
Mainstream media often wonders why public trust is eroding. Articles like this provide the answer. When readers detect linguistic gymnastics around well established facts, they do not see neutrality. They see avoidance. They see institutional hesitation where courage is required.
The Associated Press faces a choice. It can continue clinging to outdated hedging on one of the most documented genocides of the 20th century, or it can align its language with historical reality and scholarly consensus. Accuracy is not activism. Truth is not bias. Calling genocide by its name is not advocacy. It is journalism.
If the AP wishes to defend its legacy as a trusted institution, it must ask itself a difficult question. Is it serving the historical record and the public interest, or is it still calibrating truth to avoid offending states that have invested heavily in denial?
“History does not judge institutions by how comfortable they made governments. It judges them by whether they told the truth when it was inconvenient,” Gerami said.
History is watching. So are the descendants of its victims.
About TAAL
Truth and Accountability League (TAAL) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy organization with roots in defending Armenian identity and culture. Today, TAAL has grown into a broader platform dedicated to combating hate, discrimination, and disinformation affecting marginalized communities, including women, LGBTQ+ individuals, ethnic and cultural minorities, and other underrepresented groups.
TAAL monitors and challenges bias across media, academia, public policy, and cultural institutions. The organization provides educational programs, resources, and training to empower communities and individuals with the knowledge and tools to recognize, confront, and prevent prejudice, disinformation, and harmful narratives.
Our mission is to advance equity, promote accountability, and foster understanding, ensuring that all communities, including those of Armenian heritage, are represented, respected, and supported.