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.

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.

Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Culture and Information, Kanat Iskakov, described disinformation as increasingly sophisticated, driven by deepfakes and AI-generated content. Recent legislation governing mass media, online platforms and artificial intelligence, Iskakov said, aims to promote transparency and accountability while supporting fact-checking initiatives and critical thinking skills. Similar concerns were echoed by Marat Tagaev, Deputy Minister of Culture, Information and Youth Policy of the Kyrgyz Republic, who highlighted cases of financial fraud enabled by fake bank calls and fabricated videos using official logos and AI-generated images of political leaders.

Panel on Turkic media’s role in building a common future

The forum’s second day shifted from immediate counter-measures towards the longer game: how Turkic States media might build a shared space without surrendering credibility. A panel moderated by Gözde Kirişçioğlu, International Media Coordinator of the Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications, brought together figures from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Northern Cyprus. Beneath talk of joint productions and common editorial frameworks lay a more sensitive concern: that as the region’s profile grows, so too do hostile narratives — from crude “Turkophobia” to more targeted campaigns designed to fracture cooperation.

Speakers argued that media is not a secondary pillar of cooperation but a strategic one, alongside diplomacy and economic ties. Proposals ranged from journalist exchange programmes and common editorial standards to joint productions aimed at younger audiences, who are seen as particularly vulnerable to short-form, context-poor content.

Presentation on next-generation journalism practices and verification reflexes in the pursuit of reliable information

The day’s most practical session came from Ömer Faruk Görçin, who described a media environment where the old apprenticeship model of journalism has been replaced by a scramble for attention on platforms that reward speed over accuracy. Demonstrating AI-generated footage that appeared convincing at first glance, he warned that small inconsistencies — a mistimed movement, a background detail out of place — are often the only clues that content is fabricated.

Drawing on IFLA’s recommendation, Görçin urged both journalists and the public to adopt simple verification habits: checking sources and dates, questioning authorship, following supporting links and reflecting on personal bias before sharing content. In an environment where one piece of false information can circulate six times as fast as verified reporting, he argued, such reflexes are no longer optional.

From global to the Turkic world: TRT’s international broadcasting vision

Only after this focus on verification did the Turkic States forum turn to broadcasting power and geopolitics. Ahmet Görmez, TRT Deputy Director General for International Broadcasting, argued that the world is now governed as much by perception as by policy, and that international media has become a strategic arena in which narratives are contested in real time. He pointed to Gaza as a stark example: foreign journalists have been barred from reporting freely on events on the ground, while more than 200 media workers have reportedly been killed — conditions that make independent verification harder and allow propaganda to fill the gaps.

TRT, Görmez said, now broadcasts in 41 languages and increasingly tailors content to audiences who consume news in compressed form, often seeking summaries in seconds rather than context built over minutes.

“TRT Avaz”: the common voice of the Turkic States

Closing the programme, Yücel Kılıçkaya, channel broadcast coordinator, described TRT Avaz as an attempt to offer a common voice across the Turkic States, balancing speed with accuracy and linguistic diversity. Recent technical changes, including expanded subtitle options, were presented as part of a broader effort to strengthen mutual understanding across borders.

By the Turkic States forum’s close, one point drew near-universal agreement: disinformation is no longer episodic, but structural. Falsehoods, speakers observed, travel several times faster than verified information. Addressing that reality, they concluded, will require not only institutional mechanisms and technical tools, but long-term societal resilience — built through cooperation that extends well beyond Ankara’s conference halls.