ANKARA. Türkiye. December 18. The information
defense architecture of the Turkic world must be strengthened, said
Burhanettin Duran, head of the Directorate of Communications of the
Turkish Presidential Administration, Trend reports.
Speaking at the Forum on Combating Disinformation among Turkic
States, Duran highlighted the critical role of information warfare,
noting that the Second Karabakh War extended far beyond the
battlefield.
"During and after the war, numerous disinformation campaigns
were launched against Azerbaijan, aiming to distort and downplay
its victory. By exposing these falsifications, we provided
substantial support to Azerbaijan’s victory in the information
space," he said.
He shared a striking example of the power of disinformation: a
manipulated video claimed that Azerbaijani soldiers were
mistreating an elderly Armenian woman. The footage suggested that
one soldier deliberately poured out a glass of water while the
woman tried to drink it. In reality, the full video clearly shows
the soldier carefully giving her water, completely contradicting
the false narrative.
Duran stressed that today, unfortunately, it has become
increasingly easy to distort the meaning of visual content. By
cutting, editing, and removing frames from their original context,
images and videos can be made to convey entirely false messages,
creating a warped perception of reality and misleading public
opinion.
“Moreover, the use of AI technologies has taken the
falsification of reality to an entirely new level. In this
environment, modern communication tools bring not only
opportunities but also significant threats. Countering these
threats is possible only through joint, coordinated strategies.
Narratives imposed from outside can be dismantled only together, by
creating a shared, consistent, and unified story. In practical
terms, this means building stronger institutional forms of
cooperation. We must establish joint fact-checking mechanisms,
implement early warning systems, and ensure timely information
exchange,” he emphasized.
Duran outlined Türkiye’s initiatives, including promoting media
literacy, protecting youth from digital threats, strengthening
cybersecurity infrastructure, developing algorithmic monitoring
tools against AI-driven manipulations, and institutionalizing
information exchange between government bodies.
“We have a strong and unequivocal political will to act. I want
to stress that we are ready to share the expertise and experience
we have developed with brotherly countries and work together
closely. We also see a shared willingness among all parties to
cooperate. This approach stands as a clear demonstration of our
collective stance against any artificially created attempts to sow
division and undermine the integrity of the Turkic world.
Data sharing, experience transfer, joint educational mechanisms,
and rapid response capacity will be key elements of the Turkic
world’s information defense architecture. We must protect our
states, unity, and brotherhood from disinformation campaigns
through coordinated national policies reinforced by international
institutional mechanisms,” the official concluded.
The Forum on Combating Disinformation among Turkic States is
underway in Ankara, Türkiye, with participation from
representatives of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye,
Uzbekistan, Hungary, Turkmenistan, and the Turkish Republic of
Northern Cyprus. The goal is to establish an effective
communication platform among Turkic nations, enhance cooperation
against disinformation, and address media challenges. The event
will facilitate experience exchange and joint project
implementation and last for two days.
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