The International Press Institute (IPI) and the Network of Exiled Media Organizations (NEMO) have condemned a coordinated wave of fake copyright complaints targeting the social media accounts of Azerbaijani independent media outlets in exile, calling on Meta to investigate and restore blocked accounts.
IPI described the campaign as “a coordinated wave of fake copyright complaints” against independent Azerbaijani media, including Abzas Media and Meydan TV, IPI-IMS Free Media Pioneer award recipients. It noted that all targeted outlets are exile-based and have faced sustained state pressure — including the arrest of their journalists, the criminalization of their work, and the blocking of their websites.
NEMO highlighted that social media platforms have become the primary means by which exile-based media reach audiences inside Azerbaijan. Blocking accounts therefore directly limits citizens’ access to independent news. The network also noted that Meta and YouTube have documented similar coordinated campaigns against other exile media networks.
Both organizations called on Meta to treat the complaints collectively rather than as separate technical cases; to investigate the identity of complainants, including repeated use of the same names and email addresses; to verify whether complainants actually hold copyright over the materials they targeted; and to restore suspended accounts.
“Digital platforms must recognize that their systems can be weaponized by authoritarian governments to suppress critical voices,” NEMO’s statement reads. “Independent journalism plays a vital role in providing access to diverse viewpoints for people living in restricted information environments.”