The Press Council of Azerbaijan is following with serious concern the biased information, distorted materials, and campaigns aimed at manipulating public opinion against our country, which are being disseminated by a number of media resources and social media platforms in Turkey.
elchi reports that this was stated in a statement released by the Press Council.
The statement from the Press Council indicated that the presentation of individual events occurring in Azerbaijan in recent days out of context, the purposeful politicization of discussions concerning our country’s internal affairs, and the dissemination of unconfirmed claims as facts are completely contrary to the fundamental principles of professional journalism: “The Azerbaijani Press Council specifically emphasizes that the highest duty of journalism is not to pit societies against each other, but to uncover the truth, deliver accurate information to the public, and contribute to mutual understanding. However, it must be noted with regret that the exact opposite is being observed in some Turkish media outlets recently. For instance, the decision regarding the implementation of a uniform school uniform in general education institutions of our country is being distorted out of context, and completely unfounded claims are being spread about a supposed ‘hijab ban’ in Azerbaijan and the suppression of Islamic values. Furthermore, this issue, which is purely related to internal educational regulations, is being artificially escalated into a religious-ideological confrontation, thereby attempting to shape a negative image of our country.
The distortion of issues related to religious freedoms, education policy, and the socio-cultural life of our society, the use of old or fake photo-video materials irrelevant to the topic, as well as the presentation of the radical views of individual marginal figures as the position of Turkish society as a whole, are aimed at misdirecting public opinion. Such an approach is neither in line with the principles of objective journalism nor with the spirit of the existing strategic relations between the two brotherly countries.”
The statement highlighted that another disturbing aspect is that this smear campaign is not limited to the social media segment but is also being carried out by some traditional media outlets in Turkey: “In those materials, the boundaries of criticism and freedom of expression are clearly crossed, and a platform is created for dangerous calls on social media accounts aimed at forcibly changing the constitutional order in the Republic of Azerbaijan and seizing power through illegal means.
The relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey are based on common history, language, culture, moral values, and unbreakable mutual trust. The principle of ‘one nation, two states’ expresses the equal cooperation and brotherhood of our countries as independent states. This sacred principle cannot be used as a pretext for interfering in the domestic and foreign policy of any country, dragging society into ideological confrontation, or making unfounded accusations.”
The Press Council has called on Turkish media outlets, journalistic organizations, editorial offices, and individuals influencing public opinion on digital platforms to verify information about Azerbaijan based on reliable sources before publishing it: “The Council calls for refraining from distorting facts, spreading fake and out-of-context visuals, avoiding insults, slander, and hate rhetoric directed at the Azerbaijani state and people, promptly correcting and refuting identified misinformation, and demonstrating a principled stance against all forms of manipulative campaigns that could harm relations between the two countries.
The Azerbaijani Press Council declares that it will continue to demonstrate its principled stance against the distortion of truth, the spread of disinformation, and the use of media opportunities to undermine trust between our countries.”