Eight Azerbaijani independent media organizations operating in exile have issued a joint statement condemning a coordinated wave of fake copyright complaints targeting their social media accounts on Meta platforms.
Meta blocked the Instagram accounts of Abzas Media and Toplum TV following the complaints. The Facebook and Instagram pages of Azadliq Gazeti and the Instagram page of Azerbaijan Saati had previously been suspended in the same manner. Meydan TV and HamamTimes also faced similar complaints at different points.
The organizations describe the campaign as part of a broader crackdown on independent Azerbaijani journalism that began in 2023. Journalists from the listed outlets have been arrested, their websites blocked inside Azerbaijan, and editorial teams forced into exile. More than 25 journalists from these organizations are currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan.
The joint statement found that some complaints were submitted by the same individual using the same email addresses under different names, while others replicated the same patterns, contact details, and methods — indicating coordinated rather than independent action. No complainant provided evidence that they actually owned the material they claimed.
The outlets called on Meta to investigate the complaints as a coordinated campaign rather than isolated incidents, review and restore unlawfully blocked accounts, and create stronger safeguards against the abuse of copyright mechanisms to suppress journalism.
“After arresting journalists, blocking websites, and forcing editorial teams into exile, the same silencing effort is now being extended to social media platforms,” the statement reads. “Copyright law is being used not as a legal mechanism but as a tool to cut off independent media from its audience.”
Signatories: Abzas Media, Meydan TV, Toplum TV, Azadliq Gazeti, HamamTimes, Azerbaijan Saati, Qazetci, Mikroskop Media.