BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 30. Baku Network Research and Analysis Public Union has held a meeting with students of the Institute of Theology as part of a project aimed at raising awareness of harmful foreign influences and fake news.
The project is supported by the Agency for State Support of Non-Governmental Organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Speaking at the meeting, Trend's Deputy Director and project trainer Sahil Karimli stated that there are attempts to spread fake news targeting Azerbaijan in an effort to undermine the unity and solidarity achieved and maintained by Azerbaijani society.
“In particular, these think tanks and political circles are targeting the younger generation by exposing us to such harmful foreign influences. They target young people who have been raised in a spirit of patriotism in Azerbaijan in an attempt to create certain differences of opinion among them. We chose the Institute of Theology for this meeting so that we could share our views with future religious figures and, at the same time, exchange ideas with young people. There are still many harmful foreign influences in the religious sphere and under the guise of religion, and there is no doubt that they will continue in the coming years,” he said.
Chairman of Baku Network Public Union for Research and Analysis Elchin Alioghlu said in his speech that there are certain reasons why Azerbaijan is being targeted.
“First, we are a society where Jews, Tats, Christians, Molokans and others respect one another. How have we managed to live together in friendship and neighborhood for centuries? There is a synagogue, a mosque, and a church on the same street in Baku.
Second is the policy pursued by Azerbaijan. Certain foreign forces tried to create tensions in relations with Iran. But they did not achieve what they wanted. Those living there are our brothers and sisters. Now they are also trying to damage relations with brotherly Türkiye. Those conducting a biased campaign against our country in Türkiye are not ethnically Turkish. They are groups financed from abroad,” he added.
Anar Gafarov, head of a department at the Institute of Theology, said there are certain mechanisms for shaping beliefs.
“In fact, it is impossible to do anything without belief. The issue is that people's beliefs are not always directed toward positive developments. Sometimes negative tendencies are also promoted in society. Negative phenomena are sometimes created in different areas to divide and fragment society. It is difficult to combat disinformation without media and digital literacy. When we read a news story, we should question its source,” he said.
