Who needed to spread the lie about Azerbaijan’s presidential plane? The “sensation” that never happened

Freedom of speech should never serve as an excuse for disseminating unverified, let alone false and provocative, information. In theory, this is clear. However, in practice, we too often encounter examples of how the pursuit of a sensation or the execution of an outright political agenda by certain forces leads to the emergence of fake information, which is then picked up and spread by various local and foreign media outlets.

Sadly, this has happened again, as all major global media outlets are discussing the causes of the aviation disaster that occurred on December 25, 2024, near the city of Aktau. The accident involved an Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), operating flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny. The plane was carrying 67 people, including five crew members. Among them were 42 Azerbaijani citizens, six from Kazakhstan, three from Kyrgyzstan, and 16 from Russia. Thirty-eight people tragically lost their lives.

To recall, an informal summit of CIS heads of state was scheduled for December 25 in St. Petersburg, with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expected to attend. However, as the president's aircraft was nearing Moscow, he was informed of the AZAL plane crash near Aktau.

In what can be described as a "follow-up response," the Azerbaijani president convened a meeting at Heydar Aliyev Airport in Baku, where he made several important statements regarding the incident. "This morning, I was flying from Baku to St. Petersburg to attend the CIS Summit when I was informed of this tragic incident during the flight. I immediately gave instructions for the plane to return to Baku," said President Ilham Aliyev.

That’s all—no further statements were made by President Aliyev regarding the plane he was travelling on from Baku to St. Petersburg.

We are recalling all of this because, in recent days, information has been circulating in the media and on social networks suggesting that the Azerbaijani president's plane allegedly encountered radio-electronic interference and that it was this, not the tragedy near Aktau, that forced it to return to Baku. Specifically, this was reported by the Turan news agency. However, the media outlet used a rather peculiar wording. It claimed that "the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan essentially admitted that President Ilham Aliyev's 'Baku-1' aircraft encountered external technical interference during the flight to St. Petersburg for the informal CIS summit on December 25."

In reality, the ministry never made such a statement. What actually happened was the spread of conjecture and assumptions by the Turan agency, which were presented as "facts." This serves as an example of information manipulation aimed at creating a "sensation" and showcases the boundless imagination of the "Turanists." While the Turan agency officially distanced itself from its February 5 publication, by that time, the fake news about Flight 1 had already circulated widely in the media, not just in Azerbaijan, but across various countries. This fake information was disseminated by Armenian, Ukrainian, and other foreign media outlets, along with various Telegram channels and bloggers from different countries. We believe this was the intended outcome of those behind the campaign.

There are grounds to suspect that this information leak was intentional, likely aimed at distorting the true picture of events and creating the impression that the deterioration of Azerbaijani-Russian relations had a personal motive. We are not claiming who orchestrated this, from which country, or which political bloc (East or West) was behind this information sabotage. But the fact remains that this is sheer nonsense and lies. Yes, the plane of President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan turned back near Moscow. A meeting was immediately held on board the aircraft, and the decision was made personally by the president. Upon learning of the tragedy, he understandably could not attend the summit. As later events confirmed, this was the absolutely right decision. Upon arrival, he immediately held another meeting at the airport. The president was guided solely by national interests, but someone tried to turn the situation upside down. Note the manipulative headline of the Turan news: "Azerbaijan's presidential plane faced GPS disruptions over Russia, confirms investigation." In the investigation itself, there are no such claims and there can be none.

In the current situation, there is simply no need to search for and disseminate "sensational" messages. Everything that is indisputable truth has already been stated by official Baku. This principled and firm stance of Azerbaijan's leadership has earned respect in global media, as well as from foreign political analysts, bloggers, including those who were previously not known to have any sympathies for our country. However, the fake news about the Azerbaijani president's plane allegedly encountering radio-electronic interference, and being forced to return to Baku because of it, plays into the hands of those who might later attempt to cast doubt on all truthful, verified, and substantiated statements by Azerbaijan regarding the causes of the AZAL passenger plane disaster.

Yes, all of this will later be justified or defended under the postulate of freedom of speech. Undoubtedly, freedom of speech is important. But it should not be replaced by permissiveness or the "right" to spread blatant fake and provocative messages. Moreover, this case once again proves the importance of informational hygiene. This is especially crucial in the current climate, where any unverified or outright false information can come at a very high cost. That’s why we urge readers to rely not on the messages of "sensationalist" enthusiasts, but on official statements from Baku. This is also because, when it comes to the readiness and ability to defend Azerbaijan's national interests, the country’s leadership sets an example that is unattainable for those who, mistakenly or deliberately, try to escalate the situation by disseminating fake news.