Azerbaijan has again complained about the spread of fake news about the country in Turkish media, much of which concerns relations with Israel. The prominent pro-government media outlet APA wrote a lengthy article on the issue on Tuesday, claiming that it is a ‘fake news campaign’ which is ‘being carried out in a deliberate and targeted manner’ across Turkish media.
The APA article follows denials issued earlier this month that Azerbaijan would withdraw from the Eurovision song contest if Israel was banned.
Another piece of ‘fake news’ were reports that Baku had been supplying Ukraine with weapons via Sudan, Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency said on 23 September, adding that the ‘misinformation’ was being spread in Turkish media.
Monday’s APA article went further, alleging that the Turkish fake news campaign had escalated beyond individual outlets and is continuing despite repeated official complaints by Azerbaijan.
APA went on to compare Turkish media to Iranian and Russian outlets, which were described as ‘unreliable sources’.
‘Today, what is written in Russian and Iranian outlets holds no significance for us; they are hardly ever cited. Thus, the Turkish media is also losing its credibility, and the Azerbaijani public no longer has confidence in it. The question is: why does the Turkish media need this?’, APA wrote.
The article concluded by urging Turkish media to ‘respect red lines in both state and media policy’.
Baku has developed a strong alliance with Tel Aviv in recent years, which includes military cooperation and overlapping regional interests, particularly concerning forming a bulwark against Iran — Israel’s archenemy, and a country that Azerbaijan has always had a difficult relationship with.
At the same, Turkey has long been Azerbaijan’s closest ally.
Even as Israel has become increasingly isolated due to the war in Gaza, relations with Azerbaijan have remained stable, and Baku has repeatedly acted as a mediator between Israel and other countries, including Syria and Turkey.
Nicholas Castillo
