A training course on media and legal literacy, specifically designed for local bloggers and content creators, was held at the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat. The event, conducted with the participation of national speakers and international expert Adil Jalilov (Kazakhstan), underscored the strategic importance of educating those who shape public opinion.
As noted by the Acting Head of the OSCE Centre in Ashgabat, Rune Castberg, content creators wield significant influence on social media. Along with this influence comes a great deal of responsibility. The training sessions focused on the most pressing challenges of the digital age—developing the ability to distinguish facts from opinions, identifying manipulative and false content, and working with fact-checking tools.
Special attention was given to new challenges such as recognizing content generated by artificial intelligence and addressing issues related to its ethical and legal assessment. The course also examined in detail the rules for advertising disclosure, liability for the dissemination of deliberately false information, and the nuances of personal data processing.
The demand for such professional skills is growing rapidly. Media literacy helps bloggers effectively grow their audiences and minimize serious legal and reputational risks that may arise from careless or unethical content.
The advancement of media literacy in Turkmenistan aligns harmoniously with the state’s overall strategy to strengthen digital sovereignty and ensure the safety of citizens online. Training content creators serves as an important complement to the existing legislative framework regulating the digital sphere.
In our country, a number of key laws ensuring legal protection in cyberspace were adopted in a timely manner: the Law of Turkmenistan “On Cybersecurity”; the Law of Turkmenistan “On Information About Private Life,” which serves to protect personal data; and the Law of Turkmenistan “On the Legal Regulation of the Development of the Internet and the Provision of Internet Services,” which regulates issues of internet access, content, and the protection of users’ rights.
The training course became another practical step toward strengthening the society’s “digital immunity.” In an environment where content has become a tool of influence and laws clearly define the boundaries of responsibility, media and legal literacy is turning into the key resource for everyone working in the digital space.
