The Bots Are Out In Force For COP29 Host Azerbaijan

Hosting the global climate conference known as COP29 is a big undertaking, and the host country is expected to offer both a welcoming environment and also true leadership on the issue at hand. Faced with such a challenge, what’s a petrostate with a record of civil rights abuses to do?

Release the bots, apparently. Two separate analyses this week found that questionable accounts on X and elsewhere are working overtime to boost Azerbaijan’s profile with less than two weeks to go before the COP begins. One, by disinformation expert Marc Owen Jones and reported by the Washington Post, found that close to 2,000 accounts on X have a distinct bot-like feel — created this year, similar posting patterns, very pro-Baku and pro-president Ilham Aliyev.

The other, from Global Witness, pinpointed a network of 71 accounts designed to look like grassroots support for Azerbaijan — many have similar avatars, and at least seven have exactly the same image on the account. Again, 93 percent of these were set up within the past six months, and generally repost the same stuff boosting Baku and the president’s messages about COP29.

“Azerbaijan is days away from hosting the most important climate event of the year. It’s vitally important than there is space online for a real discussion about what we can expect from a petrostate host,” said Ava Lee, Global Witness’s digital threats campaign lead, in a press release. “Yet a quick search on the main COP29 hashtags unearthed a network of seemingly inauthentic accounts elevating the Government line. They are replacing rightful criticism with flowery positivity.”

Another 111 accounts seem similar, all set up within the last few months and parroting the Baku line, though they have slightly different imagery and other characteristics.

This isn’t a new development. Jones found something similar in advance of COP28 last year in Dubai, though the climate conference’s leadership specifically denounced the accounts and claimed they were set up to hinder progress rather than boost the host country’s profile. In any case, it is unlikely to make much of a dent on global climate negotiations — the multilateral process happens largely behind closed doors over the course of two weeks, and while protests might abound around the world it is unlikely that Azerbaijan’s government, known to be doing its best to stifle public dissent, will let much sully the COP29 grounds. Still, it would be nice for the COP to eventually get back to a country that doesn’t need a bot army to try and paper over its oily ambitions and shady rights record.