LACHIN, Azerbaijan, July 20. Amid the rapid growth of disinformation and technologically created fakes, news agencies are becoming the first line of defense for the truth, said Vugar Aliyev, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC), as he addressed the Roundtable on “AZERTAC at 105: The Past, Present, and Future of Cooperation” held as part of the 3rd Shusha Global Media Forum, Trend reports.
According to him, in the modern world, millions of people rely on information transmitted through news agencies every day, often without even realizing it.
"Whether it is a war, a pandemic or elections, it is the agencies that become the backbone of reliable information in the chaos of rumors and manipulations," Aliyev noted.
He stressed that the key task today is to actively combat fake news and deliberate disinformation. To this end, AZERTAC is introducing artificial intelligence technologies, including image verification and deepfake recognition tools.
"A journalist of the new era is not just a pen-wielding specialist, but a specialist with technical skills who can identify falsifications and distinguish fake from truth," he added.
Aliyev also recalled that AZERTAC currently publishes about 600 news items daily in eight languages, actively exchanging information with international partners. According to him, such a dense network exchange is a powerful mechanism for countering disinformation and improving media literacy.
He also confirmed that in 2028 AZERTAC will host the General Assembly of OANA, the largest association of news agencies in the Asia-Pacific region.