Some Examples of the Armenian Propaganda Published in the English Press During World War I

In this study, the lowdown of the Ottoman Armenians taking sides with the Entente States in World War I in order to realize their dreams of establishing their own state in the Ottoman lands will be explained with examples from the news published in the leading press organs of the period. The Times’, ‘The New York Times’, ‘Leader’, ‘Daily Mercury’, ‘Daily Examiner’, ‘Examiner’, ‘The Ballarat Courier’, ‘Townville Daily Bulletin’, ‘Warwick Examiner and Times’, ‘Warracnabeal Herald’, ‘Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative’, ‘New Castle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate’ and ‘Richmond River Express and Casino Kyogle Advertiser’ are examined. Thus, the approaches of countries that directly or indirectly supported the Armenian matter, especially the events before and after 1915 which constitute a cross-section of historical events are discussed. The data regarding the years (1912-1920) obtained from news examples selected from American, British and Australian local / national newspapers that could affect the world public opinion in terms of the Armenian matter constituted the scope of this study. The aim of the study is to include striking examples of the effort to create a false international public opinion in the form of "Cruel Turks" and "oppressed Armenians, and to demonstrate that the reality was not as it was written in the English press. The most important reason for the presentation of a distorted version of the events of 1915 in the English press was that the British government's propaganda bureau aimed to influence particularly the American public opinion by producing false and exaggerated news such as "Muslims are slaughtering Christians" in an effort to persuade the United States to fight on their side. Unfortunately, these news examples were compiled and published in a book titled “The Blue Book” and became one of the main pillars of Armenian propaganda material to influence the world public opinion.

Keywords

History, World War I, Armenian Issue, Relocation and Resettlement Law, English Press.