“Today, we face information wars and disinformation bombardment against Turkic states in the international arena. To counteract disinformation, we, therefore, must join forces and apply effective methods and proactive measures.”
Presidency’s Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun noted that the recent events in and around Turkic geography have once again demonstrated the need and vitality of Turkic unity.
The fourth Meeting of the Ministers and High Officials in Charge of Media and Information of the Organisation of Turkic States hosted by the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications was held in Istanbul.
Speaking at the meeting, Director of Communications Altun believed that the event would increase the coordination between the foundations of the Organisation of Turkic States and the Turkic states. Director of Communications Altun congratulated the Turkish Language Festival, noting that the meeting was held on the same day as the May 13 Turkish Language Festival, which was also meaningful.
Stating that the common history and eternal brotherhood are pursued in both deepening bilateral relations, and under the umbrella of the Turkic States, Director of Communications Altun recalled that the Organisation of Turkic States, which was established in 2009 by the Nakhchivan Agreement, was called the Turkic Council until 2021 and was renamed the Organisation of Turkic States at the Leaders’ Summit held in Istanbul last year.
Emphasising that the organisation has come a long way over the last 13 years in terms of institutionalisation and internationalisation, and it has become a stable and strong platform representing our unity and common will, Director of Communications Altun went on to say:
“I owe a debt of gratitude to everyone, especially our leaders, who have helped this organisation get to where we are today and who have supported us in this process. Our organisation has played a role in keeping the Turkic states united, active, and powerful. As we have always said, the Organisation of Turkic States is an example of this. We are stronger together. As our President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has stated, ‘The Organisation of Turkic States is also a great union of hearts.’ As we continue to strengthen the union of hearts that we have built, from politics to economics, from education to culture, from art to communication, with new platforms in all areas, we will become much stronger.”
“We have decided to make the Organisation of Turkic States Media Forum permanent”
Noting that the media, communication, and information field is one of the important pillars of the organisation, Director of Communications Altun said that the heads of state also support the developments by paying special attention to this field and that they attach great importance to the meetings held together by the Ministers and High Officials in Charge of Media and Information of the Organisation of Turkic States.
Explaining that they shaped the joint roadmap, joint steps, and new cooperation opportunities in the fields of media, communication and information during the meetings, Director of Communications Altun continued:
“We are hosting the fourth of these meetings here in Istanbul today. We continue our meeting, which we started yesterday, with important exchanges of ideas today. With the high-level meeting we held in the morning, we have reviewed important topics, and our programme will continue today with various thematic panels. Of course, we have important topics. For example, we have decided to make the Organisation of Turkic States Media Forum, which we held in Istanbul for the first time in October last year, permanent. I believe that this forum will become a regular event and serve as a strong foundation for our media and communication cooperation. Another topic of our meeting is the steps towards the development of cooperation between the news agencies of the member countries of the organisation. At this point, we are pioneering the establishment of a new union among Turkic news agencies with our Anadolu Agency. Today, we have taken a decision on the establishment of the Association of Turkic News Agencies, and we have decided to hold the first meeting in Istanbul again. Inshallah, we will implement this union as of next month.”
“We are one of the countries most exposed to the global disinformation problem”
Stating that combatting disinformation in social media is one of the important topics on their agenda, Director of Communications Altun noted that they discussed the methods that would boost resilience against disinformation.
Explaining that they discussed and planned what will be the mechanisms to be jointly operated to combat disinformation and what steps to be taken, Director of Communications Altun said:
“As Türkiye, unfortunately, we have been the target of a number of despotic practices of disinformation and digital fascism. In fact, we can say that we are one of the countries most exposed to the global disinformation problem. Of course, this also led us to develop an important acquis in the social media as well as national and international media in combatting disinformation, develop an important resistance capacity, and in a sense, put forward a roadmap.”
Stating that they do not hesitate to share this knowledge and experience with friendly and brotherly countries, Altun emphasised that they had organised a social media training programme in July last year with participants from the member and observer countries of the Organisation of Turkic States and that it was a very effective programme and yielded fruitful results.
Director of Communications Altun said that they are planning to implement different training and exchange programmes in the field of media and that they will achieve effective results together.
Noting that they will implement television and cinema productions that will tell the past and present of the Turkic world to both the society and the world in a more accurate, more effective and stronger way, Director of Communications Altun stated that they have demonstrated their determination so far, focused on tangible projects and that they will continue to cooperate in diversifying and increasing the number of co-productions on these topics.
“We believe that we can extend Türkiye’s Communication Model to the scale of the Turkic world”
Touching on the Türkiye’s Communication Model during his speech, Director of Communications Altun said:
“As Türkiye, we have a communication model that we have built on a broad basis, ranging from public relations to public diplomacy, fighting against disinformation to crisis management, and to the media regulation with a public interest perspective. We believe that we can extend Türkiye’s Communication Model to the scale of the Turkic world. We share and will continue to share our institutional capacity, legislative expertise and practical experience in this field with brother countries. This meeting has been one of the grounds for that.”
Director of Communications Altun emphasised that they will be in an effort to increase coordination and cooperation between, notably, the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, Anadolu Agency, Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, Press Advertisement Agency, Radio and Television Supreme Council and equivalent institutions in brother countries.
Director of Communications Altun said, “Recent events in and around Turkic geography have once again demonstrated the need and vitality of Turkic unity” and continued:
“Everywhere we are, we have been and are still exposed to attacks directed at Turkic presence and arrogant attempts to ignore us. Each of us has faced and continues to face these threats at varying sizes and scales. In the Post-Truth era we are going through, disinformation has become a systematic tool very often used for these undertakings. Today, disinformation has become an issue aimed at the integrity of our countries and the Turkic world. As it is a national security problem for each of us, disinformation is an international, universal problem. Today, we face information wars and disinformation bombardment against Turkic states in the international arena. To counteract disinformation, we, therefore, must join forces and apply effective methods and proactive measures.”
Emphasising that digital fascism and digital colonialism constitute the main issue that threatens the liberty of individuals and societies and the sovereignty of states, Director of Communications Altun continued:
“The fact that a handful of media companies consider themselves superior to the rights and freedoms of individuals and the sovereignty of states, and confront us with practices in this direction, reveals a real international despotism and an order of domination. We should object to this order. This platform is one of the most significant platforms where this objection is met internationally. Not only that, but we should also develop original models and applications that will serve the benefit of all humanity, especially in digital media. This is a platform where we talk about what they could be. Obviously, our only constant must be the truth in the great and rapid transformation enabled by new technologies and the opportunities presented by digitalisation, as there is only one truth. The only thing that doesn’t change is the truth. We, as always, will continue to stand up for the truth. We will not give credit to those who seek to drown out this pursuit of truth in echo chambers.”
“We will not allow social media to be used for malicious purposes such as reputation assassination”
Director of Communications Altun said that they will not allow social media to be used for malicious purposes such as reputation assassination and social engineering.
Stating that they will continue to benefit from the opportunities of law and education and their strong cultural background in this regard, Director of Communications Altun said, “We will defend our citizens and our country as well as our cyber homeland with all the necessary methods and tools. The joint will we will demonstrate will also constitute a significant opportunity to prevent fifth column activities in our countries.”
Noting that as Turkic states, they are active in all aspects of media and communication, Director of Communications Altun said, “We endeavour to be active. In this sense, we are engaged in collaboration and unity of forces. We are expanding and strengthening our institutional collaborations in all facets of communication and media, from technology to content. We strive to more effectively explain the advancements and riches of our countries and the Turkic world through positive communication campaigns. To make the Turkic world’s voice heard in the international arena, we strive to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all of our communication opportunities. I believe that these actions will provide significantly more productive results.”
Expressing that they have recently experienced together that solidarity and cooperation between us can have very positive results, Director of Communications Altun said:
“The solidarity between our states during the COVID-19 pandemic process is an example of this. Again, the solidarity we displayed during the Karabakh War, which we are proud to have ended in a glorious victory, is an example of this. On the way to the Karabakh Victory, we also put up a great struggle together with Azerbaijan on the information front, demonstrating our solidarity. Thankfully, we have the means to successfully overcome possible trials and tests. As of the geography we are in and the time we are living in, regional and global solidarity has become crucial. We clearly understand the importance of meeting under the umbrella of the Organization of Turkic States on the shared denominator of a shared future as well as a shared language and history. Each of us has a great responsibility to ensure that the will of our leaders manifests itself in the field of media and communication. We strengthen this umbrella with shared media and communication columns. I believe that all of our efforts will lead to auspicious results for our regions and the world. I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making such an important effort with this awareness of responsibility.”
After the speeches, a family photo was taken.
After the meeting, Director of Communications Altun met with Assistant to President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, responsible for Foreign Affairs, Hikmet Hajiyev, and the accompanying delegation.
Director of Communications Altun also met with Minister of Information and Social Development of Kazakhstan Askar Umarov and the accompanying delegation.
A new emblem was designed for the meeting
Furthermore, a new emblem was designed for the "Fourth Meeting of the Ministers and High Officials in Charge of Media and Information of the Organisation of Turkic States".
Director of Communications Altun introduced the said emblem to the heads of delegations in the closed session of the meeting.
The star in the emblem's centre represents the ancient homeland. The waves around the emblem, on the other hand, symbolise the Turkish tribes dispersed all around the world, as depicted in the Epic of Oğuz Kaan.
The colours of the emblem were decided based on the common flag colours of the member and observer countries of the Organisation of Turkic States.
