Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemns attempts by some internet resources and social media profiles to undermine presidential election

Baku, April 11, AZERTAC Azerbaijan`s Foreign Ministry has condemned attempts by some internet resources and social media profiles to undermine the Azerbaijani presidential election. “Some internet resources and social media profiles specialized in spreading of fake news, fraud and slander with the sole aim of undermining the presidential elections, which is taking place in a free, democratic and open atmosphere, continue to disseminate fake news in biased and deliberate manner,” said Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesperson of the ministry. “In the photos and video footage shared by such Internet resources, discrepancies between the numbers of the alleged and actual polling stations, insertion of photoshop elements into the pictures or providing interviews of unidentified persons, attempts to misinterpret active electoral turnout in another form prove the fakeness of such information.” Hajiyev said: “By means of such fraudulent information, they seek the futile goal of misguiding and misleading the international and local observers who function in an open, free and democratic environment and affecting the final reports which will be prepared by observers as an outcome of elections. “All conditions have been provided for the international and local observers to monitor the elections freely, in a democratic, transparent manner and they have the opportunities to get acquainted with the situation on the ground,” he added.