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Turkic States Forum on Combating Disinformation 2025 – DNH report
Senior media and communications officials from across the Turkic world gathered in Ankara this week amid growing concern that disinformation has become not merely a media problem, but a strategic vulnerability. The two-day Turkic States Forum on Combating Disinformation, hosted by Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications, brought together officials and media representatives — among them Daily News Hungary — around a shared view that false narratives now shape conflicts, undermine public trust, and distort international perception at a speed rarely seen before.
Table of contents
Opening remarks and keynote addresses by the heads of delegation
Opening the forum, Ömer Kocaman, Deputy Secretary General of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), situated the debate within the organisation’s founding principle of “unity in language, thought and action”. Established sixteen years ago to deepen cooperation across the Turkic States, with Hungary participating as an observer, the OTS, he suggested, now faces a test not of diplomacy or trade, but of informational resilience in an era of digital saturation.
That theme was developed further by Burhanettin Duran, Head of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, who argued that disinformation lies at the heart of a wider crisis in the international system. Manipulation, hate speech, cyber operations and coordinated smear campaigns, he warned, pose direct threats to public order, national security and the reputation of the Turkic States, particularly during periods of crisis or conflict.
Presentation on Türkiye’s experience in countering disinformation
Türkiye’s own experience was presented as a working model, with relevance for other Turkic States facing similar challenges. Since the creation of its Centre for Combating Disinformation in 2022, Ankara says it has identified and debunked more than 2,500 false or misleading claims through a system of 24-hour monitoring, rapid inter-institutional coordination and public verification mechanisms. Officials cited cases ranging from fabricated reports during the February earthquakes — including a widely circulated but false claim that a dam had burst in Hatay — to miscaptioned images of tourists portrayed as evidence of illegal migration.
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Several speakers emphasised that contemporary disinformation increasingly relies on distortion rather than outright fabrication. A frequently cited example from the 2020 Karabakh conflict illustrated the point: authentic footage of Azerbaijani soldiers offering water to an elderly Armenian woman was later altered and redistributed with misleading commentary, demonstrating how artificial intelligence can subtly rewrite reality while retaining a veneer of authenticity.
Panel on instances of disinformation targeting the Turkic States and counter-disinformation efforts
For Ahmet Ismayilov, Executive Director of Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency, such tactics have become routine as members of the Turkic States gain international visibility. During the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan faced sustained hybrid information attacks, prompting daily briefings and extensive access for international outlets. Verification through first-hand reporting, Ismayilov argued, remains one of the most effective antidotes to manipulation, alongside longer-term investments in media literacy and updated legislation.
A practical example of institutional cooperation repeatedly referenced was the Türkiye–Azerbaijan Media Platform, a structured bilateral mechanism designed to coordinate media exchanges, share verified content and respond jointly to disinformation. The platform also operates in a digital format known as Turkic.World, which participants described as an early attempt to create a shared media space between the two countries. That partnership has also fed into wider initiatives such as the Shusha Global Media Forum, where “information defence” has become a standing agenda item — reinforcing the view that media cooperation is increasingly treated as a component of national resilience rather than a purely professional exchange.
For background on how these ideas were articulated earlier, you can read our July coverage, “Never give up” – Aliyev sends a message to Ukraine and delivers a blow to Moscow, which reports on President Ilham Aliyev’s remarks at the Shusha Global Media Forum.
They should have used Fidesz as a case study in dissemination of disinformation starting with the 4 million propaganda papers being sent to Hungarian households about the “Tisza Program”.