Today at 23:56
Ukraine’s international broadcasting media under the FREEДОМ, UATV and The Gaze brands widely covered the Shusha Global Media Forum on air and across digital platforms — YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok and X. Views of thematic materials on the digital platforms of SE “IBMPU” exceeded 2.6 million.
Representatives of the State Enterprise “International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform of Ukraine” took part in the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum, as well as familiarized themselves with the experience of the development and reconstruction of Karabakh, restoration work in Shusha, visited Victory Park in Khankendi and the Memorial to the Victims of the Khojaly Genocide in Khojaly.
“Participation in the forum is an important professional conversation with colleagues about modern media, an opportunity to share our own experience and establish new partnerships. But it was especially valuable for us to see with our own eyes how Azerbaijan is rebuilding de-occupied Karabakh. Shusha leaves a very strong impression. For Ukraine, this is not merely an interesting but an extremely inspiring experience. The forum also included extensive discussion of combating disinformation, the role of media in overcoming the consequences of the colonial past, restoring trust, strengthening national identity and the right of peoples to determine their own future. For Ukrainians, these topics have particular significance today,” noted Yuliia Bin, CEO of SE “IBMPU.”
The key issues, events and statements of the forum received extensive coverage on the FREEДОМ channel and other international broadcasting platforms. FREEДОМ special correspondent Yurii Kulinich prepared a number of thematic reports, live broadcasts from Shusha and exclusive interviews with senior Azerbaijani officials and forum participants. In total, the international broadcasting team published more than 60 video and text materials about the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum. Views of content about the Shusha Media Forum on the digital platforms of SE “IBMPU” — YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, WhatsApp and X — primarily on the platforms of the Russian-language FREEДОМ channel, exceeded 2.6 million*, including more than 1.7 million views** on FREEДОМ YouTube channels, more than 350,000 on Instagram and more than 300,000 on TikTok. International audiences accounted for more than 95% of views, with the largest numbers of viewers coming from Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The top cities included Baku, Moscow, Yerevan, Tashkent, Almaty, Samarkand, Minsk, Astana, St. Petersburg and Sumgayit.
A landmark event of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum was the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who spent several hours answering journalists’ questions and communicating with forum participants in an open dialogue. Ilham Aliyev’s statements in support of Ukraine and his ironic remarks about censorship in Russia and the fate of Russian experts who allowed themselves to speak positively about Azerbaijan generated the strongest response among the FREEДОМ audience. Content featuring statements by the President of Azerbaijan has already received more than 1.9 million views*** across SE “IBMPU” platforms, and this figure continues to grow dynamically, including more than 1.5 million views on YouTube, more than 180,000 on Instagram and more than 130,000 on TikTok. Ilham Aliyev’s vivid comment about Russian media figures received more than 970,000 views on the flagship FREEДОМ YouTube channel: 96% came from international audiences, 45% from Russia, with high numbers of views also coming from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Germany.
Ilham Aliyev’s statement, “Borders Cannot Be Changed by Force!”, expressing support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders and Azerbaijan’s readiness to help the Ukrainian people, attracted significant attention from viewers in Russia, Azerbaijan, Central Asian countries, Belarus, Armenia and Germany. In total, materials on this topic received more than 550,000 views*** across FREEДОМ platforms, 96% of which came from audiences abroad. The leading cities by views included Moscow, Baku, Tashkent, Yerevan, Minsk and Almaty.
Support for the Ukrainian people was also voiced in comments by other participants of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum and received a strong response from international broadcasting audiences. Ramis Yunus, professor of political science at Khazar University, said in an exclusive interview with FREEДОМ that the Ukrainian army is currently the strongest in Europe, while Russia is moving toward disintegration, and therefore Ukraine needs to increase the cost of the war for Russia through effective strikes deep inside the aggressor country. These statements received more than 350,000 views**, including 135,000 on Instagram and 100,000 each on TikTok and YouTube. Up to 96% of views came from abroad. Among the YouTube audience, 34% of views came from Azerbaijan, 28% from Russia and 7% from Kazakhstan. The leading cities were Baku, Sumgayit, Ganja, Yerevan, Tashkent and Almaty. On Instagram, 80% of views came from Russia; on TikTok, 17% came from Azerbaijan, 11% from Kazakhstan and 7% from Belarus.
Political analyst Gela Vasadze emphasized in an exclusive comment to FREEДОМ that the Russian Federation as an empire brings much pain and blood, and that the war against Ukraine can end when Russia ceases to be an empire and every meter of Ukrainian land is liberated. Vasadze’s comment received more than 250,000 views in total***.
An exclusive interview with Hikmet Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan and Head of the Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration, also aired on the FREEДОМ TV channel and international broadcasting digital platforms. Hikmet Hajiyev paid particular attention to Ukrainian-Azerbaijani relations, emphasizing the long-standing friendship between the two peoples, close humanitarian ties, mutually beneficial cooperation and support for Ukraine’s territorial integrity. He also spoke about the idea behind the Shusha Media Forum and its global role, as well as the importance of international dialogue in the modern information space.
UATV and The Gaze covered the forum in news broadcasts and publications, focusing on key statements by the President of Azerbaijan.
The participation of Ukraine’s international broadcasting team in the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum became an important platform for presenting Ukraine’s experience in international journalism, developing professional contacts and exchanging practices with media experts from different countries. CBC TV Azerbaijan aired an interview with Marina Honcharuk, host of the “Turkic Focus” program on FREEДОМ, devoted to the results of the 4th Shusha Global Media Forum.
The 4th Shusha Global Media Forum took place in Shusha on July 13–15 under the slogan “Media Mission in Advancing Peace: Restoring Truth and Rebuilding Trust.” The event brought together more than 150 international journalists and media representatives from around the world. The forum included one-on-one discussions, panel sessions and interactive meetings. During the sessions, media executives from various countries, government officials, representatives of international organizations and leading media institutions discussed changes and challenges in the modern media environment. The discussions included an exchange of views on such relevant issues as media, information security, artificial intelligence, digital transformation and international cooperation. All details of the event are available via the link.
Official social media accounts of the Shusha Global Media Forum:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/globalmediaforum/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mediaforum2023
*Overall metrics — views and reach — across the digital platforms of the FREEДОМ, UATV and The Gaze channels: YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, TikTok, WhatsApp and X. Data sources: digital platform analytics tools, Google Analytics and the channels’ YouTube Studio. Period: July 13–23, 2026.
** Five YouTube channels under the FREEДОМ brand: FREEДОМ: FREEДОМ, FREEДОМ.LIVE, FREEДОМ.DOC, FREEДОМ.МНЕНИЯ, FREEДОМ. ЛЕНТА НОВОСТЕЙ.
*** This refers to the combined number of views of videos on the specified topic across the digital platforms of SE “IBMPU” on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Telegram, X and WhatsApp.
