An Azerbaijani spin operation aimed at providing misleading coverage of the ongoing conflict with Armenia has been revealed after an attempt to use an intermediary PR firm to coax an Australian academic into signing his name to a misleading op-ed.
The Brussels-based EUobserver exposed the ruse after a slanted pro-Azeri article was sent to them, ostensibly by Australian conservationist Professor Bill Laurance. The publication rejected the article, which falsely labelled Azeri military personnel blockading the Lachin region as eco-activists attempting to stop mine works in the area. EUobserver immediately contacted Professor Laurence, citing their concerns.
Professor Laurance, s distinguished conservationist from James Cook University, had signed his name after being ‘tricked’ by the British PR firm BTP Advisers, who pitched the idea. After being made aware of the irregularities by EUobserver, Professor Laurance called BTP Advisers, who confirmed they were indeed being paid by the Azeri government to peddle slanted media articles to Western press groups.
The PR firm, which describes itself as a ‘multi-award winning communications agency,’ has a track record of laundering the reputations of authoritarian regimes. The company has previously generated controversy for its consultancy work with the Rwandan and Zimbabwean, as well as Ivory Coast governments. In 2011, the PR firm was revealed by undercover reporters to be willing to alter Wikipedia entries for despotic regimes.
Professor Laurance described the PR company as ‘radioactive’, vowing never to work with them again. While EUobserver refused the initial piece, representatives for the publication confirmed that they had received syndicated op-eds sent by BTP Advisers before. The publication The National Interest was set to publish the pro-Azeri piece under Professor Laurance’s name until they were made aware of the concerns.
Alejandro Tauber, the editor of the EUobserver, told The European Conservative that the publication did not receive any offer of payment for running the article and that it simply aroused suspicion due to pro-Azeri bias.
The revelation comes amid international condemnation of the Azeri government’s brutal blockade of the Lachin region, which experts have described as a form of hybrid warfare to subdue the ethnic Armenian population.
In December 2022, Azeri forces commenced a blockade of the region by proxy, with Azeri media outlets immediately spreading misinformation that it was being conducted solely by environmental activists in the region around a dispute over mining activity. Armenian sources have alleged that members of Turkish ultra-nationalist groups are assisting the blockade, which is estimated to be restricting supplies to 120,000 people.
Focus on the role of influence operations in Brussels has increased in the aftermath of the highly publicised Qatargate scandal, which has raised the issue of foreign governments manipulating human rights issues in the EU.
BTP Advisers did respond to questions from The European Conservative.
