Editor's note: Hamza Azhar Salam is the Editor of The Pakistan Daily.
Governments across the globe cooperate on a plethora of issues, including defense, investments, and climate action.However, when it comes to cooperation in the realm of media, there is still a lot of potential to explore, especially regarding nations that enjoy brotherly relations with each other.
At the second Shusha Global Media Forum, President Ilham Aliyev suggested forming a joint working group between the media industries of Pakistan, Azerbaijan, and other countries while responding to my question.
The President’s vision opens doors to a new brand of diplomacy, in which media is used not only to strengthen bilateral relationships but also to fight disinformation together. Mutual benefits can be derived if the journalist communities of the brotherly nations of Pakistan and Azerbaijan cooperate and unite their efforts to combat disinformation. A famous idiom states: "1 and 1 make 11." This is how united efforts can synergize the fight against disinformation. Governments worldwide will have to come up with more creative ways to repel the nuisance of fake news.
As Azerbaijan prepares to host COP29, it is expected that hostile forces will use this opportunity to spread propaganda against the nation. The same was witnessed when the UAE hosted the global event previously. Nations must learn from the past and refrain from becoming victims of similar disinformation campaigns.
Brotherly bilateral relationships should be leveraged not only for increased defense or security needs but also in the realm of communications. Information warfare is a potent tool that can result in very real consequences for nations. It is about time that modern tools are fully embraced, and nations take advantage of the democratization of media.
Modern Artificial Intelligence tools, including new language models, must be at the forefront of the proposed joint efforts of media collaboration. As global influence shifts from the Global North towards the majority in the South, innovation in technology should dominate the discourse in countries like Azerbaijan and Pakistan, which may capitalize on these tectonic shifts. A platform where international journalists from friendly countries contribute can become a firewall that repels any coordinated disinformation campaign.
In the context of COP29 and beyond, the Pakistani journalistic community stands ready to support the communications strategy of their brotherly nation, Azerbaijan, knowing well that this cooperation will greatly expand and solidify the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
(If you possess specialized knowledge and wish to contribute, please reach out to us at [email protected]).
