By RT | Thursday, 21 April 2016
The ad features the words “Truth=Peace” printed in large letters and shows a hand colored like the Turkish flag holding up a peace sign, while two other hands colored like the Russian and Armenian flags have their fingers crossed.
It also contains a link to the genocide-denial group FactCheckArmenia.com, which propagates claims that Armenians were killed during the First World War because they were “collectively guilty” of treason against the Ottoman Empire.
Moreover, it attempts to argue that less people were killed than is claimed, and that the Armenians started the conflict.
The WSJ ad caused outrage on Twitter and other social media.
Adding to the controversy, the newspaper responded by saying it prints many “provocative” ads that may not represent the opinions of WSJ.
“We accept a wide range of advertisements, including those with provocative viewpoints. While we review ad copy for issues of taste, the varied and divergent views expressed belong to the advertisers,” the papers’ spokesperson said, as quoted by Gawker.
The group that paid for the ad promotes a pro-Turkey platform, with the goal of deflecting attention from the real facts surrounding the genocide.
It appears that the latest campaign, which comes on the eve of the 101st anniversary of the Armenian genocide, has been well-coordinated and sponsored.
The group was able to place similar ads in Boston and New York’s Times Square. While it took less than a day of Twitter outrage to have the Boston ad removed, it remains unclear for how long the huge banner in Times Square had been up.
Beginning in April of 1915, most of the Ottoman Empire’s Armenians were killed, displaced, deported or placed in concentration camps, ostensibly for rebelling and siding with the Russians in World War I.
Turkey admits that many Armenians were mistreated, but asserts that the exact numbers of those killed have been exaggerated, and there had been no systematic policy to eliminate the Armenian minority.
comments
Azerbaijan Blocks Humanitarian Transport To and From Lachin Corridor
#TogetherForSyria Telethon Raises over $110,000 for Armenians In Syria
After Lachin Corridor Blockade, Putin Speaks to Pashinyan and Aliyev
Aliyev Signs Order Declaring Shushi Cultural Capital of Turkic World
Lemkin Institute Voices Support For Artsakh Rights to Self-Determination to Avoid Genocide
Tensions Escalate Between Iran and Azerbaijan
Moscow is Closely Coordinating Peace Treaty with Yerevan and Baku
Aliyev Criticism of Russian Peacekeepers and Iran Elicits Strong Reactions
Putin Says Yerevan Rejected His Plan to Cede Less Territory in Artsakh