Reports circulated by several foreign media outlets mentioning Azerbaijan's name in connection with the investigation involving August Hanning, the former head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service (BND), are disinformation and are considered part of an intensive smear campaign carried out against Azerbaijan recently.
Operativ Media reports that this was stated in a declaration by the Media and Broadcasting Council.
It was noted that presenting unfounded allegations linking Azerbaijan to the investigation in question—initially published by Germany's "Der Spiegel" and subsequently circulated by "Reuters", "AFP", "France 24", "The Times", "The Telegraph", and other international media outlets—to a wide audience as facts causes serious concern, and releasing such materials without referencing official sources is considered unacceptable information manipulation:
"The malicious intent of the forces behind this disinformation operation is to damage Azerbaijan-Germany relations, which have been developing further recently.
The Media and Broadcasting Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan strongly condemns such disinformation campaigns aimed at baselessly presenting Azerbaijan in a negative context in the international information space, and calls on international media entities to strictly adhere to the core principles of professional journalism, including accuracy, objectivity, referencing reliable sources, and fact-checking, and to prevent the dissemination of untruthful information and the manipulation of public opinion."
