The Milli Majlis Commission on Countering Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats has demanded that CNN prove its baseless allegations.
“Elchi” reports that the commission has issued a statement regarding this matter.
The statement notes that the commission calls on the transnational media company “CNN” to provide an explanation regarding the groundlessness of the information provocation against Azerbaijan, which cites unnamed sources in its article titled “Israel sent troops to Azerbaijan as part of a secret network across the region during the Iran war,” or to present facts to the public that would prove its claims:
“On June 5, the transnational media company ‘CNN’ committed an information provocation against Azerbaijan by citing unnamed sources in its article titled ‘Israel sent troops to Azerbaijan as part of a secret network across the region during the Iran war.’
The Milli Majlis Commission on Countering Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats declares that this information was disseminated with the aim of damaging the peace process in the Middle East, as well as Azerbaijan’s national interests and international reputation, and is part of a disinformation campaign.
First and foremost, it should be noted that this is not the first time that ‘CNN’ and similar media organizations have conducted a targeted information campaign against Azerbaijan on the eve of important diplomatic and political events, global international events, or processes.
Monitoring conducted by the commission has determined that immediately after the aforementioned article was shared, as a result of the ‘opportunistic amplification’ tactic and process, this anti-Azerbaijani narrative spread rapidly across most influential media outlets worldwide, as well as on social media platforms such as ‘X’, ‘Threads’, ‘Facebook’, and ‘Telegram’, turning into a campaign.
The fact that the authors of the article ultimately turned to a person who is always distinguished by an anti-Azerbaijani position and who previously worked on media projects funded by the ‘Soros Foundation’ provides grounds to assume the origin of the matter.
As has been repeatedly stated by our relevant state institutions, there are no military forces (troops) or bases of any foreign state in our country, and it is impossible for any unfriendly activities to be carried out against third countries from the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The Commission on Countering Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats calls on ‘CNN’ to provide an explanation regarding the groundlessness of this article or to present facts to the public that would prove its claims.
Otherwise, by disseminating materials with a wide international reach based on unverified and anonymous sources, ‘CNN’ will once again confirm that it is playing the role of a tool in information operations, fake narratives, and disinformation campaigns, which are considered important components of hybrid threats.”