Iran, Azerbaijan victim of fake news: Trend chief editor

Tehran, IRNA – Editor-in-Chief of Trend News Agency Emin Aliyev believes that certain powers and foreign organizations have turned social media platforms into a source of media warfare against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Aliyev told IRNA on the sidelines of the 18th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies (OANA) in Tehran on Tuesday that the existing world order is changing and the global media outlets are facing new challenges in the transition period. Certain powers, governments, and organizations are using the new atmosphere, which is based on producing and resharing news stories by unprofessional individuals, to propagate their own agenda, he noted. The editor-in-chief went on to say that social media networks and channels are trying to marginalize the important role of national media outlets. The representative of the Trend News Agency said that the mainstream media are not active in certain Central Asian states, for example, Iran and Afghanistan, so the news agency tried to have a good presence in such areas in order to make the mainstream media dependent on the Trend News Agency. The Azerbaijani media expert takes part in the 18th General Assembly of the Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies, which is hosted by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) in the capital Tehran from October 24 to 25. In the two-day assembly, around 60 senior directors, managers, and editors from 35 OANA member states discuss various topics, including the development and strengthening of media cooperation. At the end of the 18th General Assembly of the OANA in Tehran, a communique will be issued by the members on Tuesday. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish