Being a troll in Azerbaijan. “Your monthly income can reach 3-4 thousand manats” |

“The people they insult by calling them ‘trolls’ also do that work to earn a living. They (referring to pro-government journalists, bloggers-ed.) write and write, sit and stand with the money of the officials. We also write the assigned words. what are we hungry Shall we stay?” – these words in an interview with Azadlig Radio in social networks said BB, who earns money by writing reviews assigned to him, in other words, trolling.

The first step on the road to trolling

BB worked in various ministries for about 12 years. In 2017, he had to leave work due to health problems. 2020When the COVID pandemic swept the world in 2018, BB is interesting when looking at job ads on the Internet vacancy met with As BB read the requirements of the ad, in his own words, his eyes lit up.

“I was surprised by the announcement I came across when everyone was unemployed. Starting from 2 thousand manats for the beginning social they were looking for a media manager. Working hours were from 9 am to 9 pm from home during the pandemic. After the pandemic, it was planned from 9 am to 6 pm. Working conditions are “main social whether you have a network account, phone, or internet, the rest is explained,” it was written. I also got in touch, they called me to a plaza near the “Nizami” metro station for a meeting. When I went to the meeting, it became clear what the issue was,” he said in an interview with Radio Liberty.

BB during her job interview political and religious meeting, political He says that he was asked special questions about his attitude to parties and politicians.

“The interview was organized on a computer. The vast majority of questions political it was content. “Bribery will you criticize the recipient on social media”, “To the rally have you left or under what circumstances do you leave”, “What is your attitude towards law enforcement agencies”, “Do you belong to a political party, and if not, what is the reason?”, there were many questions. Since I used to work in the ministry, my political thoughts were already in the direction they wanted, i.e. pro-government. I answered the questions and went home. Three days later, you received a call that you were hired,” BB said.

600 manats for one or two social network accounts…

BB says that since the day of recruitment, he has been busy writing comments on the posts according to the list given. He says that he mainly writes negative opinions on the representatives of the opposition and on the propaganda of the parties close to the government.

“For the first two or three weeks of work, we were trained. The training was not about sitting down and explaining something, we were writing feedback on the assigned statuses from the first day. For example, the frontliners (who are in the opposition PFCP activists), feminists action was spending They said, “come in, condemn the action, call them financed by the West.” I already because of my political views MAKE– I am, and I consider feminists to be an organization created to destroy families. That’s why I was interested in writing a lot of reviews about the actions. But when I was asked to praise ministries that I thought were doing poorly, I was disgusted with myself. But what do you do, it’s bread money”, – BB said when talking to a reporter of Radio Liberty.

He says that the earnings of the business varied depending on the influence and number of reviews.

“Here, as some people think, there is no “bomb” income. You have to work to earn. If you have a profile, you only get paid based on the reviews written there. Or if you only comment on posts on political topics, you will only get paid for this, 600-1000 manats. If you work day and night, write every review and do every job, you earn well. “Your monthly income reaches 3-4 thousand manats,” he said.

According to him, those currently working in the network he is a member of are mainly between 25-45 years old. BB said that people under the age of 55 who know politics well and have an understanding of technology are also trolling.

“There are no ladies, even if there are, they don’t sit in the office. Mostly men. Some of them also come after 6 o’clock as a second job. Among us are employees of government websites, ministry employees, and teachers. The collective is also good, the main thing is that privacy is protected,” he said.

He also notes that they do not choose the posts they have to write an opinion on, but are formed based on the task.

The ones behind the trolls

Although BB indicates that the troll network is directly connected to the authorities, it does not say from whom it receives orders.

“Human bread he does not spit in the bowl he eats. It would not be correct to say who is financing us now. But no one denies that we are working under the joint control of the highest people. At that time they said, the police, MAKE there are trolls. It was a straight conversation, we heard them too. But I can’t name anyone exactly. There is also an official whom everyone likes, who occasionally comes to visit us in the office near the “Nizami” metro station. “Deputies also came and talked with the person who leads us,” he said.

BB added that more than a thousand people work in the said network. According to him, the network is also divided into sectors within itself.

Allegation of patronage of trolls in Azerbaijan

In April 2022, “Facebook”, “Instagram”, “WhatsApp“Meta” company, which integrates social platforms, said in its report that threats from Azerbaijan – fake accounts, trolling activities are being investigated.

“We have deleted the network of profiles in Azerbaijan that are engaged in cyber-espionage and that we suspect of inauthentic behavior. This network primarily targeted people from Azerbaijan, especially activists, oppositionists, journalists and critics of the government. It was a productive but poorly managed network and Azerbaijan It was managed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs”, the report stated.

“Facebook2020announced in October that Yeni Azerbaijan to the party (MAKE) more than 8 thousand “Facebook” and deleted his “Instagram” account. That they violated the social network’s policy against coordinated fraudulent behavior, which was reported in Russia in 2016 USAwrote that it was similar to the election interference operation. YAP denied these claims.

Vusnow What appeared in Safarli’s trial

President with accusations of embezzlement of the State Support Fund for Mass Media Development imprisonment former executive director Vüsnow Safarli said in his court that the bloggers were working unofficially on the rented 421 m² place. From the activities of traveling bloggers President Ramiz Mehdiyev, former head of the Administration, former department head of the Administration Ali Hasanov also said that they are aware.

Azadlig Radio revealed that the mentioned bloggers are employees of various websites. According to one of those people, each of them opened a large number of fake profiles and wrote comments through them. Comments are also pre-agreed.

Azerbaijan the authorities have not yet reacted to what was written in the international media about the troll factory. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country called the information in the report “unfounded”.

Getting rid of the “troll” name one day…

BB, on the other hand, sees the way to get rid of the name “troll” in a different way. He says he hopes that one day this network will become official.

“They curse us because we earn bread money. Everyone makes a living. What to do? Hopefully, one day, this network will become a Propaganda Fund, and we will walk together with everyone,” he said.

At the end, BB noted that the work plan includes writing reviews about the success of the past year for the country in December.