Baku Launches 'Troll Factory' for Anti-Armenian Propaganda

Swedish journalists have uncovered the secret behind Azerbaijani propaganda's success. A study by Blankspot has revealed that a complete 'fake factory' is engaged in anti-Armenian propaganda.

According to Infoteka 24, on October 5, the Swedish news agency TT published an article claiming that Azerbaijan had discovered mass graves in Nagorno-Karabakh from the period of the first Karabakh war. This article was republished by about fifteen major Swedish media outlets.

The main source of the article was Hikmet Hajiyev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's personal advisor on foreign affairs, who tweeted about the discovery of the graves. On September 19, his tweet content spread rapidly on Twitter, garnering thousands of shares in a short time. Following a wave of criticism from various individuals, particularly Swedish-Armenian historian and peace and conflict researcher Vahagn Avetisyan, the chief editor of TT's foreign news department apologized for the mistake.

However, the Blankspot team was interested in how this tweet gained such widespread attention in a short period. It was ultimately revealed that Azerbaijani agitprop actively employs a 'troll factory'—fake accounts that disseminate similar and other anti-Armenian articles. Additionally, Baku's propaganda is furthered by invitations to various publications and analytical centers at the expense of the state budget, and during such visits, substantial propaganda work is carried out, which subsequently influences the activities of those media outlets and centers.