Azerbaijan-Georgia Media Forum Discussion

A media forum between Azerbaijan and Georgia, organized by Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency, gathered over 40 people to talk about the media situation in the area. Most of those who attended were connected to state groups and media that support the government from both countries. It seems no independent media from either Georgia or Azerbaijan were there.

The forum focused on worries about outside influence and the spread of wrong information. Some Georgian attendees criticized how international media covers their country. Gia Abashidze from POSTV said a BBC investigation about the Georgian police was an example of 'hybrid attacks and fake news' against Georgia. Ioane Shaishmelashvili, also from POSTV, said the BBC's report was 'absurd' and claimed they were spreading false information about Azerbaijan. Other Georgian attendees included journalists and managers from state media, like Ramilya Aliyeva from Georgian Public Television and Azer Mamedov from Lider Media.

The Azerbaijani group mainly consisted of high-ranking people from state media control and development groups. Key people there included Ahmed Ismailov, Executive Director of the Media Development Agency of Azerbaijan (MЕDІA), and Fazil Novruzov, Head of the Audiovisual Council of Azerbaijan, along with leaders from state media and schools, such as Vugar Zifaroglu, Dean of the Faculty of Journalism at Baku State University. The forum aimed to encourage cooperation between media that support the government and push for rules to control what they called negative information, which looks like it promotes state censorship.

These discussions happened as both countries are increasing government control over independent media. In Azerbaijan, the government has been working for years to stop press freedom, arresting many journalists since late 2023. The charges against these journalists, like smuggling money or illegal business activity, are seen by some as excuses to punish reporting on political issues. Similarly, in Georgia, the ruling party has introduced laws that limit media, like a Foreign Agents Registration Act, which people believe is meant to weaken independent media and organizations that rely on foreign money. This pressure on critical reporting in both countries goes against the forum's talk about media cooperation and fighting 'fake news'.