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".