Azerbaijan Raised an Entire Generation of Hatred and Murderous Mindset Through Fake News, Zohrebian at PACE

Today, the issue of media freedom and the right of citizens to receive accurate information was discussed at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). MP Naira Zohrebian spoke about manipulating public opinion through hate and hostility propagated by fake news, citing Azerbaijan, a member of the Council of Europe, where Azerbaijani media is at the forefront of spreading hatred and hostility against Armenians.

Zohrebian called for much stricter legislative regulations in Council of Europe member states to combat the total propaganda of hate and animosity fueled by fake news, considering the incitement of hatred and interethnic enmity one of Europe's most serious challenges.

In her speech, Zohrebian stated: “Dear colleagues, today we are discussing an extremely important report on media freedom and the citizen's right to receive accurate information. Yes, in our informational world, the media is often more powerful than the strongest weapon. And in our European family, there is a country whose media landscape is horrifying even under the slightest scrutiny. When the leader of that country, Azerbaijan, speaks about the reasons for their victory in the recent war over Artsakh and mentions that they won because they were able to educate a generation raised on hatred and enmity against Armenians, he is right, and Azerbaijani media has played an undeniable role in promoting and continuing to advocate for hatred, violence, enmity, and deceit.

When an Azerbaijani politician declares that Armenians should be killed in Nagorno-Karabakh and the entire Azerbaijani media resources spread this, when a 13-year-old Azerbaijani girl states that she wants to become a sniper to kill Armenians and this becomes a top topic in that country’s media, we have the horrifying picture that we experienced during the 44-day bloody war and also after it—atrocities, lies, falsehoods, and media manipulations.

Currently, in Azerbaijan, trials are taking place for Armenian soldiers whom Azerbaijan presents as terrorists and saboteurs, and the entire Azerbaijani media is filled with the deception of those disgraceful court sessions spreading misinformation, and now what kind of accurate information can we talk about, and how can we protect society from fake news? Today, in our age of free media flows, if we cannot protect our societies from fake news, which in totalitarian countries feeds societies with racism, intolerance, and lies, we will end up with Azerbaijan, where the media daily inundates with videos tormenting and humiliating Armenian prisoners of war, accompanied by a public opinion that welcomes it.