Azerbaijani Experts Address Growing Disinformation Challenges in Public Discourse

Disinformation Named Top Threat for Azerbaijan in Global Risk Report

Public officials and media experts gathered in Baku on Sunday to address what the World Economic Forum has identified as Azerbaijan’s primary risk for 2026: disinformation. The public discussion, titled “Disinformation as the Most Serious Threat at the Global Level and in the Azerbaijani Context,” was jointly organized by the Azerbaijan National NGOs Forum (ANNF), the Media Development Agency, and the Azerbaijan Press Council.

The forum follows the recent release of the WEF’s “Global Risks Report” in Davos, which highlighted disinformation not only as Azerbaijan’s primary upcoming challenge but as a serious global threat affecting democratic institutions worldwide.

“Disinformation in the modern era has turned into a systemic threat that targets not only the information sphere but also public stability, state–citizen relations, and democratic institutions,” said Ramil Iskandarli, Chairperson of the Board of the ANNF, during his opening remarks. “The World Economic Forum identifying disinformation as a key risk for Azerbaijan is a serious signal.”

The discussion comes at a critical time for Azerbaijan, which has faced numerous information challenges following its territorial disputes with Armenia and subsequent military operations that restored control over the Karabakh region in 2020. The country has often claimed to be the target of coordinated disinformation campaigns by external actors.

Natig Mammadli, Deputy Executive Director of the Media Development Agency, emphasized that social media platforms have become the primary vectors for false information. “The Azerbaijani state has strong political will to combat all forms of disinformation,” Mammadli stated. “However, in this process, public vigilance, media literacy, and the high intellectual level of society are the most powerful weapons.”

The rise of artificial intelligence and deepfake technologies has intensified these concerns. During a dedicated session, Mushfig Alasgarli, Chairperson of the Public Union for Support to Innovative Initiatives in Media, highlighted how AI-generated fake images, videos, and automated bot networks pose unprecedented challenges to information integrity and public opinion formation.

Azerbaijan’s Press Council Chairman Rashad Majid pointed to professional media standards as a crucial defense mechanism. “The first principle of our ethical code states that the highest purpose of journalism is to spread the truth, and objectivity is the main criterion of professionalism,” Majid said, suggesting that adherence to such principles could serve as a positive example for social media users.

The discussion also examined the geopolitical dimensions of disinformation. Zaur Ibrahimli, board member of the ANNF, and Sanan Najafov from the Social Initiatives Center Public Union, addressed the expanding scope of hybrid threats against Azerbaijan, placing them within a broader global context where information warfare has become a standard component of interstate competition.

Regional cooperation was highlighted as a potential response strategy by Azer Allahveranov, Secretary General of the NGO Platform of Turkic States member countries and a member of parliament. He emphasized that “coordinated action in the information space is of strategic importance for the Turkic world,” suggesting that countries with shared cultural and historical ties could collaborate to counter disinformation.

The forum also included a global perspective through Fuad Karimli, representing the Secretariat of the Global South NGO Platform. Karimli noted that developing nations face particular vulnerabilities to disinformation due to “insufficient digital literacy, limited inclusion of local languages in artificial intelligence systems, and a lack of technological resources.”

The discussion represents part of Azerbaijan’s growing focus on information security as the country positions itself as a regional hub between Europe and Asia following significant investments in energy infrastructure and transportation networks.

The ANNF has committed to organizing further public discussions on matters of societal importance, indicating that the fight against disinformation will remain a priority for both government agencies and civil society organizations in Azerbaijan.