Turkic States Call for Enhanced Cooperation to Combat Disinformation

Turkic States Unite Against Growing Threat of Disinformation

Communications leaders from across the Turkic world convened in Ankara on Thursday to address what officials describe as one of the 21st century’s most pressing challenges: the deliberate spread of false information threatening regional stability and public order.

The “Turkic States Forum on Combating Disinformation,” hosted by Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications, brought together media professionals and government representatives to develop coordinated strategies against increasingly sophisticated information manipulation campaigns.

During his opening remarks, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran emphasized the critical nature of this collaboration. “Disinformation, manipulation, cyberattacks, the spread of hate speech on social media, and growing distrust in information systems pose direct threats to public order,” Duran warned attendees. “Disinformation represents a threat to truth itself and has increasingly turned into an international instrument used to influence societies.”

The forum takes place against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions and technological advancement that has made false information easier to create and distribute. Duran specifically referenced the 2020 Karabakh conflict, during which Azerbaijan faced what he described as coordinated disinformation campaigns designed to undermine its military operations, including manipulated video footage circulated internationally.

The Organization of Turkic States, which includes Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan, has been strengthening institutional cooperation for over 16 years. Operating under the principle of “unity in language, thought and action,” the organization has expanded collaboration across economic integration, transportation, defense, education, and cultural initiatives.

Quoting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from the organization’s 12th summit, Duran noted that Turkic states are positioned to respond collectively to shared challenges ranging from terrorism and irregular migration to cyber threats and climate change. This coordination has become increasingly important as the international landscape grows more complex and unpredictable.

Türkiye has taken concrete steps domestically to combat false information. Duran highlighted the Disinformation Combat Center, established in 2022 under the Directorate of Communications, which has already exposed nearly 2,500 false or misleading claims. The center employs interagency coordination, early warning systems, rapid information sharing during crises, and long-term initiatives to strengthen media literacy among citizens.

According to Duran, disinformation campaigns often strategically target the international reputation, shared identity, and regional cooperation mechanisms of Turkic states with the aim of eroding trust and legitimacy. These operations represent a significant threat not only to individual nations but to the cohesion of the Turkic world as a whole.

The timing of the forum is particularly significant as global information ecosystems face unprecedented challenges. Social media platforms continue to struggle with content moderation at scale, while artificial intelligence has made creating convincing false content easier than ever before. For countries in strategic regions like the Turkic states, which sit at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the stakes of information integrity are especially high.

Experts in information security have long warned that disinformation has evolved from simple fake news into sophisticated, multi-platform campaigns that can destabilize economies, influence elections, and even provoke conflict between nations. The forum represents an acknowledgment that no single country can effectively combat this threat alone.

As the day-long event concluded, participants agreed that closer cooperation, stronger communication networks, and shared platforms are essential components of an effective counter-disinformation strategy. The forum marks an important step in building resilience against information warfare in a region of growing geopolitical significance.