BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 11. A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Azerbaijan Press Council was held today. Opening the meeting, the Chairman of the Board, Rashad Majid, briefed on the issues on the agenda. The agenda was put to a vote and adopted.
First, the Chairman of the Board of Directors' report on the work done so far since the last meeting of the Board of Directors was heard. Majid noted that during the past period, the composition of the Language Commission of the Council, headed by the Chairperson Vusala Mahirgizi, was determined, the organization strengthened its activities, held an expanded meeting and reviewed the trends in the current field in detail. The council also held a conference on the topic "Media language in the level of scientific discussion" together with the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences.
The Baku City Education Department launched a new project called "School in Public Discussion" with the support of the Azerbaijan Press Council. Many events and meetings have been held and are being held within the framework of the project. Members of the Board of Directors of the Council actively participate in this project and visit schools.
In the past period, the Press Council's comments on the amendments to the law "On information, informatization and information protection" and the new plenum decision of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan "On protection of personal rights" were published.
In a statement issued on February 6, the Press Council justified the inadmissibility of the methods of media representatives in obtaining and disseminating statements from a student of this educational institution regarding the incident that occurred at the "Idrak" lyceum.
Majid said that recently, during live broadcasts and shares on social networks, especially TikTok and YouTube, open swearing, insults, immoral behavior and hate speech have been widely encountered. Therefore, the Press Council issued a statement calling on all bloggers, tiktokers, and social media users in general, operating on social networks during the reporting period, to act in accordance with the legislation, ethical norms and principles of social responsibility.
During the reporting period, a public discussion on the topic "Disinformation: as the most serious threat on a global scale and in the reality of Azerbaijan" was held in partnership with the Press Council and Media Development Agency and organized by the Azerbaijan National Non-Governmental Organizations Forum.
Majid also emphasized the establishment of the Coordination Center for Journalist Organizations under the Media Development Agency as an important event and stated that the expected dynamic activity of this organization is of exceptional importance in terms of providing an operational response to events and processes taking place in the international media arena.
The council chairman also noted that in many cases, the difference between a journalist and a social network user is lost. Some information spread on social networks is released to media outlets without any investigation. As a result, false information gains information value, which in turn leads to misdirection of society. Therefore, in another statement during the reporting period, the Press Council called on journalists and representatives of media entities to seriously consider the above-mentioned points, adhere to professional principles, and maintain the high reputation of journalism.
In its next recommendation, the Press Council, based on the fact that the issue of food safety is an important segment of the security of society and the people, called on journalists in this sector not to become tools in the dissemination of information and disinformation trends designed to damage someone's reputation, but to demonstrate high sensitivity by covering only the truth.
During the reporting period, the Chairman of the Press Council expressed his attitude to the parts of the annual report of the Council of Europe Platform for the Protection of Journalism and the Promotion of the Safety of Journalists on the state of press freedom in Europe for 2025 related to Azerbaijan. In this regard, it was justified that the report was biased. In another statement, the Council called on the media and journalists to be sensitive to the presentation of interviews and the interviewees.
Majid also highlighted that during the reporting period, 3 anniversaries, 1 commemorative event, 3 presentation ceremonies were organized at the Press Council, and 4 congratulatory texts were distributed by the council. In addition, 2 meetings of the Complaints Commission, 1 meeting of the Language Commission and 1 meeting of the Control and Inspection Commission of the organization were held.
The Press Council Board meeting was informed about the work of the Council's Complaints Commission. Avaz Rustamov, Executive Secretary of the Press Council, reported that 7 complaints were considered at two meetings of the commission. The total number of complaints received by the Press Council during the reporting period was 12, with 5 of them resolved as a result of mutual contacts between the Council Secretariat and both parties. The opinions of the Complaints Commission mainly addressed recommendations to the respondent parties regarding the clarification of the position of the other party. In addition, through the efforts of the commission, reconciliation was achieved between the complainant and the respondent parties.
The meeting of the Board of Directors of the Press Council held a discussion on the additions to the "Code of Ethical Conduct of Azerbaijani Journalists" regarding the inadmissibility of propaganda with hate speech and the plenum decision of the Supreme Court of Azerbaijan "On the protection of personal rights". It was noted that amendments to the "Code of Ethical Conduct of Azerbaijani Journalists" are approved at the congresses of journalists of the country. Therefore, the text of the additions regarding the indicated points should be prepared before the congress.
During the discussion, it was noted that the amendments to the "Code of Ethical Conduct of Azerbaijani Journalists" are approved at the congresses of the country's journalists. Therefore, the text of the amendments regarding the above points should be prepared before the congress.
In general, at the meeting, it was emphasized that the issue under discussion is extremely important because recently, the opinions voiced by some media representatives and independent journalists use rhetoric that can provoke lynching of various parties. However, the condemnation created by the journalist should be thought-provoking, and the measures arising from this thought should not contradict the norms and principles of civil society, mustn't cause irritation. Journalists, especially when covering extreme situations, events that have caused resonance in society, and moments related to such events, should not be carried away by emotions, should not be hasty, and should act according to the specific essence. It was noted at the meeting that all this should be reflected in the text of the amendments to the "Code of Ethical Conduct of Azerbaijani Journalists".
