BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 27. Algorithms based on
artificial intelligence have become a leading actor in shaping
public opinion, the Executive Director of the Media Development
Agency of Azerbaijan, Ahmad Ismayilov said at the panel session
titled “Transformation of Global Public Opinion in the Ecosystem of
Digital Communication,” held today in Istanbul as part of the
International Strategic Communications Summit (Stratcom Summit
2026), Trend
reports.
He noted that in the modern era, public opinion is no longer a
social phenomenon formed solely within national borders. As a
result of the rapid development of digital communication
technologies, public opinion has transformed into a multipolar and
dynamic system shaped on a global scale. This transformation has
not only increased the speed of information flow but has also had a
significant impact on its content, mechanisms of influence, and
criteria of reliability.
According to Ismayilov, whereas traditional media once played a
key role in shaping public opinion, today social media platforms,
digital content producers, and even AI-based algorithms have become
leading actors in this process. This, in turn, has simultaneously
strengthened both the democratization and fragmentation trends of
the information space:
“One of the main characteristics of the digital communication
ecosystem is its decentralized and interactive nature. Users are no
longer just consumers of information but also its producers and
distributors. This new reality, along with the increase in the
number of actors involved in shaping public opinion, has also led
to a diffusion of responsibility.”
The Executive Director added that this transformation has also
given rise to a number of challenges:
“First of all, the rapid spread of disinformation and unreliable
information requires special attention. The algorithmic structure
of digital platforms sometimes prioritizes emotional and
sensational content, which negatively affects the formation of
objective and fact-based public opinion.
The second important issue is related to information sovereignty
and national communication security. The dominance of global
platforms in some cases leads to the weakening of national
information spaces and pushes local content into the background.
This makes it necessary to develop new approaches in the
communication policies of states.
The third area is the crisis of trust. Alongside the growing
number of information sources, doubts about their reliability are
also increasing. Under these conditions, strengthening
institutional mechanisms for forming stable and healthy public
opinion becomes particularly important.”