Parliamentary Commission: Scale of hybrid attacks against Azerbaijan has increased significantly

The Parliamentary Temporary Commission on Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats has issued a statement regarding hybrid attacks conducted against Azerbaijan.

Operativ Media reports that the emergence of the state as a middle power under the wise leadership of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, its resolute foreign policy, its growing international prestige, its contribution to international energy security, its strategic importance in regional transit corridors, and domestic socio-economic stability have significantly increased the scale of hybrid attacks by foreign actors against Azerbaijan.

"Against the backdrop of ongoing wars and tensions in our region, the Republic of Azerbaijan, characterized as an island of stability, has recently been subjected to unprecedented and synchronized religious-ideological provocations, coordinated information operations, and cyberattacks.

Under the guise of various freedoms, the centuries-old national, moral, and multicultural values and religious beliefs of our people are being targeted, and alien ideologies are being presented as the right path through harmful activities aimed at destroying the concept of truth in society.

Joint investigations with relevant state bodies revealed that influence operations, cyberattacks, and terror-provocation intents aimed at manipulating public opinion, creating polarization in society, and undermining trust in state institutions are being conducted through agents of influence and covert organizations both inside and outside the country, as well as hacker groups, foreign media outlets, real and fake accounts, and bots in the digital space.

Regrettably, hostile forces operating in friendly and neighboring countries inject their disinformation content into digital platforms through seemingly independent channels, attempting to create fault lines in society along ethnic, religious, or political lines. Their goal is to sow discord within the country, turn citizens with differing views against each other, fuel violence, and undermine our state from within.

Hybrid threat actors, using the method of 'computational propaganda,' encourage people to actively search for, believe in, and share fake information on media and social networks that supports certain views, with the aim of misleading public opinion and deepening fragmentation in society.

Algorithm-driven content sharing creates an 'echo chamber' effect, leading users to encounter only information that reflects their existing beliefs, views, and worldviews. Posts calculated to draw emotional reactions from our citizens are directed to broad audiences thanks to algorithms on digital platforms.

Furthermore, through the 'filter bubble' mechanism, harmful content reaches only audiences that are ready to accept it and are already influenced in a certain direction, exponentially increasing the effectiveness of manipulation.

In such an environment, these actors seek to promote alien values, undermine national stability, and divide our society from within through the platforms' own infrastructure without resorting to classical propaganda methods.

During monitoring, it was also established that despite the scale of insidious activities conducted against Azerbaijan from certain centers, our Victorious People have displayed a firm stance, refusing to yield to provocations, unequivocally supporting the steps taken by the state, and continuing to provide necessary assistance in exposing divisive content and individuals.

We state once again that the Milli Majlis Commission on Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats, its relevant committees, structural units of its Administration, as well as relevant state bodies are successfully preventing these dirty hybrid attacks against our state and will continue to leave no attack unanswered.

Our commission also expresses its deep gratitude to citizens of friendly and neighboring countries who condemn these anti-Azerbaijani activities for their fair stance," the statement concluded.