BAKU -- An RFE/RL investigation has discovered that several individuals with links to Azerbaijan's ruling party were involved in what appears to have been a coordinated social media campaign targeting France over the recent unrest in the French-ruled Pacific island of New Caledonia.
Dozens of accounts on X, formerly Twitter, were suspended for spreading the disinformation, namely misleading photos and videos, RFE/RL has learned, after similar accusations leveled by French officials.
Following the digital trail of some of the suspended accounts, RFE/RL was able to uncover details of those linked to them, including their roles or positions in the New Azerbaijan Party (YAP), which is led by President Ilham Aliyev.
Aliyev, who inherited the presidential office from his late father in 2003, has drawn harsh criticism at home and abroad for repressing his rivals, severely limiting civil rights, and abusing his authority to benefit his own family.
Nurlan Qalandarli, a YAP spokesman, denied as "absurd and biased" any claims that the party or the Azerbaijani authorities were behind the online campaign.
"Party members can freely express their opinions on social and political issues in the mass media and social media and comment on any events and processes taking place in the country and at the international level. This is not an exception in relation to the issue of New Caledonia," Qalandarli told RFE/RL.
RFE/RL also reached out to the X account holders implicated in the investigation but received no response.
Hashtag Campaign
The French government's watchdog for online disinformation campaigns, Viginum, issued a report on May 17 identifying Azerbaijani social media accounts spreading anti-French propaganda.
Viginum said at least 86 posts on X were published by profiles of people who listed a connection to the YAP. They used the hashtags #RecognizeNewCaledonia and #FrenchColonialism.
An RFE/RL analysis found there were 1,413 postings on X under the hashtag #RecognizeNewCalendonia between May 16 and May 22, with a posting peak on May 16.
Analysis by RFE/RL showed X accounts most active in either posting or reposting under the hashtag #RecognizeNewCaledonia were based in Azerbaijan.
New Caledonia was rocked by violent unrest in May, sparked by a proposed change to the electoral law and fueled by sharp economic inequality between the indigenous Kanak population and people of European background.
Seven people were killed, hundreds arrested, and buildings and cars destroyed in two weeks of rioting that started on May 13. France declared a state of emergency in its Pacific territory on May 15 and sent hundreds of troop reinforcements to help police put down the revolt.
Azerbaijani flags were spotted at the protests, and political activists in New Caledonia were reportedly in contact with the Baku Initiative Group, an Azerbaijani organization set up in July 2023 that supports independence movements in French territories.
Why Azerbaijan's Flag Is Flying Amid New Caledonia Unrest
On May 27, French President Emmanuel Macron lifted the state of emergency in New Caledonia in a bid to facilitate dialogue between local political parties and French authorities and restore peace for the 270,000 residents of the archipelago.
Tense Ties Between Paris And Baku
Ties between Paris and Baku have been strained in recent months and have worsened since Baku took control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in October 2023, triggering a mass exodus of tens of thousands of Armenians from their homes.
At the time of the military campaign, France had repeatedly criticized Azerbaijani authorities over the blocking of the Lachin Corridor, the key road that linked Armenia to the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
It's not the first time France has accused individuals linked to Azerbaijan of targeting it with a social-media smear campaign.
In November 2023, Viginum issued another report claiming an Azerbaijani individual with links to YAP had orchestrated a campaign aimed at undermining Paris's capacity to hold the upcoming Olympic Games.
According to the Viginum report, the campaign featured images of riots, the city of Paris, and the logo of the Olympic Games, under two hashtags, #PARIS2024 and #BOYCOTTPARIS2024.
The report said it could not link that campaign directly to the Azerbaijani authorities.
Emin Ibrahimov, a former Azerbaijani diplomat, told RFE/RL that the Aliyev government was always eager to mold and manipulate public opinion.
"For this purpose, the Azerbaijani government also created an army of trolls. Those who work in government offices, without a doubt, always do it to prove their loyalty and to improve their careers," Ibrahimov explained.
Misleading Photo
The current campaign included a picture montage showing dead pro-independence protesters in New Caledonia next to a white man in a khaki outfit pointing a rifle, with the caption: "The French police are murderers." This image, which French fact-checkers established was in fact two separate pictures spliced together, was widely reposted under the hashtag #RecognizeNewCaledonia, RFE/RL found.
Using the analytical tool TweetBinder, RFE/RL was able to determine that this viral post under this specific hashtag was first published by an account belonging to @esmirakhahil.
Not mentioned by name in the latest Viginum report, RFE/RL linked the account to Esmira Xalil, who is currently employed at the Azerbaijani State Committee for Diaspora Affairs, although her exact position is unclear. A 2014 news report described her as the head of the press service of the committee.
Despite questions about her exact role, Xalil appeared to be a high-profile bureaucrat, representing the committee at several events between 2014 and 2022, when she was among its members singled out for awards for implementing state policy in work related to the Azerbaijani diaspora.
This viral post, which appeared to show dead pro-independence protesters, was also shared by an X account linked to Rasadat Xaliqov, who identifies himself as a district deputy chairman of YAP. His account has since been suspended by X.
X also suspended the account of Ramila Seyidova for sharing the misleading image. Although her account offered no biographical details, RFE/RL found that Seyidova was a regional deputy chairwoman of YAP, based, in part, on an article from 2022 that included a photo of her.
An X account linked to Anar Sahmurad was also suspended by the social media company for spreading the misleading information. Sahmurad also worked for YAP, a local media article from 2022 indicated.
Turkan Quliyeva, another member of YAP, also had her X account suspended for the same offense, according to her Facebook account.
Among the suspended X accounts is one belonging to Vuqar Agayev, who campaigned for YAP in Baku's Garadagh district ahead of the country's presidential election in February.
In December 2021, Agayev confirmed working for the state-run news agency, Azertac, as a special presidential correspondent.
The second most widely shared post under the hashtag #RecognizeNewCaledonia, RFE/RL found, was a video accusing French police of murder in New Caledonia, which was originally published on the X account belonging to Elmeddin Behbud, whose name is mentioned in the French report.
Citing his own biographical data, Viginum stated that Behbud was employed at Azerbaijan's Council of State Support to NGOs, which functions under the auspices of the Azerbaijani presidency. Behbud's account was apparently not suspended, as RFE/RL was able to access it recently.
None of the accounts mentioned responded to RFE/RL requests for comment.
Some of them had been quoted by the Baku-based APA news agency as saying they had been targeted by what they called a "coordinated harassment campaign led by Viginum," adding that it had affected their personal security, professional reputation, and freedom of expression.
