In recent days, Azerbaijani officials have been targeted by what the government has called ‘fake news’ — posts impersonating top officials with inflammatory content about the country’s relations with Russia.
On Monday and Tuesday, pro-government media outlets in Azerbaijan published statements by the Media Development Agency debunking fabricated screenshots showing statements by high-ranking officials regarding Russian–Azerbaijani relations.
The screenshots showed statements attributed to presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev, First Deputy Prime Minister Yagub Eyyubov, and Interior Minister Vilayat Eyvazov.
Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency has dismissed all of the posts as ‘fake news’, calling on journalists to only cite official sources and not to publish news that has not been shared by official media.
The ‘fake news’ appeared to have been primarily shared through screenshots on social media showing fabricated news reports in the style of official websites or news agencies.
Screenshots dismissed by the agency as fake but attributed to Hajiyev show a Russian statement published on President.az, the president’s official website.
‘A false statement on behalf of the Hajiyev about Russian–Azerbaijani relations was disseminated in a number of social networks. This statement, imitating the image of the official website of the President of Azerbaijan and containing fabricated claims, is an example of gross information manipulation aimed at misleading public opinion’, wrote the agency.
According to the screenshot of the statement, Hajiyev says that President Ilham Aliyev’s ‘personal ambitions’ were the ‘only reason for the deterioration of relations with the Russian Federation’.
‘Russia met us halfway, made all the necessary payments to the victims of the accident with the AZAL flight, without waiting for the conclusions of the investigation into the incident’, read the statement debunked as fake by the Media Development Agency.
Nate Ostiller
The news was shared the day after the third Global Shusha Media Forum in Stepanakert (Khankendi). During the forum, Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is preparing to take Russia to international court over the deadly plane crash.
Nate Ostiller
On the same day, the Media Development Agency debunked what appeared to be a deep fake of Deputy Prime Minister Yqub Eyyubov.
‘Several social media accounts, allegedly on behalf of the First Deputy Prime Minister, Eyyubov, have made a statement using “deep fake” technology that does not correspond to reality. The statement claims that Azerbaijan is pursuing an aggressive policy towards Russia’, the statement read.
The Media Development Agency claimed that the video were created ‘by certain circles using artificial intelligence and aimed at polluting the information space, which is an example of gross manipulation aimed at misleading public opinion’.
Further news debunked as fake but attributed to Interior Minister Eyvazov surfaced on social media on Tuesday, appearing to show him calling Aliyev’s remarks at the forum ‘emotional in nature’, as well saying that they ‘do not reflect the official position of the Interior Ministry’.
‘We remain neutral and distant, focusing on fulfilling our direct duties. Few people liked President Aliyev’s statements’, the screenshot read.
The Media Development Agency again dismissed the statement as fake, calling it an ‘example of gross information manipulation aimed at misleading public opinion’. They called on the ‘citizens of Azerbaijan, journalists, and public activists to always show integrity in such cases and to be vigilant in a situation where campaigns based on false and misleading information are gaining momentum’.
All screenshots debunked by the agency were published in Russian and were focused on Azerbaijani–Russian relations. None of the officials featured in the screenshots have issued any statements or comments following their publication.
Aytan Farhadova
