Finding the truth has become a more serious challenge in the age of artificial intelligence.
Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department at the Presidential Administration, made the remarks at a special session titled “The language of peace and combating disinformation” held as part of the Baku Culture and Media Dialogue Platform, Operative Information Center-OMM reports.
He said disinformation was one of the main obstacles in this regard:
“This is not a new concept. We can now see that it is spreading widely. Artificial intelligence and social media have, in a way, become a medium that amplifies this phenomenon.”
The presidential aide drew attention to international law in this context:
“Countries’ internal affairs are now being interfered with through artificial intelligence. Azerbaijan has built a system to combat disinformation over the past 30 years. At the time, a situation was created in which it seemed as though Azerbaijan had occupied another country’s territory. In other words, disinformation is not unfamiliar to us.”
Hajiyev recalled that CNN had recently published a report on a highly dangerous issue:
“It was an issue that could have had a very serious impact on the situation in the region. This was not a professional approach. What did Azerbaijan do in this situation? It asked the other side for an explanation and also raised the matter before the UN. There has been no response so far.”
He recalled that CNN’s report suggested Israeli forces were in Azerbaijan and could attack Iran if necessary:
“That is technically impossible; it was entirely disinformation.”
Hajiyev also said Azerbaijan had a very limited geographic area:
“A journalist must understand, when writing this, that it is technically impossible.”
The presidential aide said an article CNN published about Azerbaijan during the Iran-Israel war was entirely wrong:
“If we consider their claim, how could Israel transport military equipment here? If that happened, it would be very easy to detect by satellite or other means. These claims were impossible.”
He said the report was part of a disinformation campaign directed against Azerbaijan:
“In other words, not only journalists and professional media, but also diplomats became targets of this disinformation.”
