Third Uzbek-Russian media forum opens in Tashkent

The forum will run through November 10 at the Hilton Tashkent City hotel. According to Uznews, more than 200 people are taking part, including top executives from over 50 Russian media companies. As UzA reported, the program features four sessions: on the role of media in tourism, sports, and humanitarian exchanges; digital transformation and artificial intelligence; changing audience habits; and preserving traditional values. A seminar on information security and child protection, as well as master classes on content verification, are also scheduled.

In his speech, Asadov cited data on the country's media market: about 2,700 media outlets, 67% of which are private, with internet penetration reaching 94%. According to him, active content consumers have grown to more than 32.7 million compared to 14.7 million in 2017. This year, publishing industry output has doubled: 15,000 book titles were published with a total print run exceeding 60 million copies. He also announced the launch of the National Media Bank featuring photo and video materials about Uzbekistan.

According to the press secretary, the volume of fake news and deepfakes doubles every year. "No national media system can counter such challenges alone," Asadov stated.

He proposed training personnel through joint internships, journalism schools, and educational platforms, fighting disinformation together and developing common standards for fact-checking, expanding technological partnerships, and building direct ties between editorial offices, journalists, and bloggers. In Uzbekistan, according to his data, 11,000 young specialists have already completed training on a specialized platform.