"In Azerbaijan, the problem of disinformation becomes more pronounced as the country’s international reputation grows," Ahmad Ismayilov, Executive Director of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, said at the Turkic States Forum on Combating Disinformation held in Ankara under the organization of the Communications Directorate, APA's correspondent dispatched to Ankara reports.
Ahmad Ismayilov noted that, particularly during periods when major international events are held in Azerbaijan, various smear and disinformation campaigns are observed.
He stated that these campaigns aim to create confusion and instability and often appear in the form of false information intended to damage the country’s reputation.
The Executive Director emphasized that the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has repeatedly highlighted the increasing use of disinformation, fake news, hybrid threats, deepfake technologies, misuse of artificial intelligence, and other manipulative practices in the global information space. Such phenomena seriously affect the image and internal public life of countries, undermine international stability, and erode trust between states.
Referring to President Ilham Aliyev’s position, Ahmad Ismayilov said that information provocations are international in nature and not only damage countries’ reputations but also weaken public trust in the media.
He recalled that during the Global Media Forums held in the city of Shusha, extensive discussions took place with participation from prominent media representatives and experts worldwide on the future of media in the digital environment.
The Executive Director noted that at the Third Shusha Global Media Forum held in July of this year, discussions on strengthening information and media resilience in the age of artificial intelligence focused primarily on enhancing media literacy in the fight against disinformation.
He also emphasized that issues of combating disinformation are constantly highlighted in joint forums and prestigious events held within the framework of the Türkiye–Azerbaijan joint media platform and with other Turkic states.
Ahmad Ismayilov noted that Media Literacy Week is currently being held in Azerbaijan: “Every year in December, we declare Media Literacy Week across the country and carry out extensive awareness-raising activities related to the work we have done in this area throughout the year. In recent years, this has become a good tradition in our country and is being met with great interest by society.”
He stressed that transnational information policies and international propaganda activities, which easily cross national borders, significantly affect the reputation, internal affairs, and societal conditions of individual countries.
Ahmad Ismayilov added that in international practice, the most widely used strategy by countries to increase media literacy is integrating the subject at multiple levels of the education system and implementing coordinated measures: “In this regard, we are ready to cooperate and exchange ideas with our brotherly Turkic states.
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