Daryo.uz

Daryo.uz is a major Uzbek online news portal, active since January 2013. It publishes in Uzbek, Russian and English and covers domestic affairs, Central Asia, international news, business, culture, sport and lifestyle. Daryo reports more than four million monthly readers and 21 million monthly page views, although State Media Monitor did not independently audit those figures. The publication is operated by Simple Networking Solutions LLC and is wholly state-owned through a state institution under the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan. Daryo’s institutional page identifies Simple Networking Solutions LLC as the company behind the publication and records its registration as a mass-media outlet under certificate No. 0944 of 13 March 2015.

Media assets

News portal: Daryo.uz, publishing in Uzbek, Russian and English

Ownership and governance

Daryo.uz is operated by Simple Networking Solutions LLC, STIR 301878322. This is confirmed by the publication’s own imprint and contact information.

Tax Committee-sourced corporate data updated on 6 September 2026 identify the Media Content Production Centre under the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan as the company’s sole participant, holding 100 per cent. The same record identifies the company’s ownership form as public ownership and names Ahmad Mengnimuratovich Yusupov as its manager. The current corporate record therefore establishes direct state ownership of Daryo’s operating company.

The Centre’s official website confirms that it operates under the Presidential Administration. It was created from the media centre of the Presidential Administration’s press service, and its Director and two deputies were appointed by order of the Presidential Administration in September 2025. Kobuljon Akhmedov was appointed Director. UzNews reported the appointments and institutional succession.

An earlier record’s attribution to the company SMA Media was not substantiated and has been removed.

Uztelecom did have a historical ownership relationship. Its official 2015 annual report recorded a 50 per cent interest in Simple Networking Solutions dating from 23 March 2013. The interest was again disclosed in its 2017 reporting. Uztelecom’s 2015 corporate disclosure therefore confirms historical ownership, but not the current chain. Simple Networking Solutions does not appear in Uztelecom’s latest published affiliated-person list, dated 1 November 2024. The precise date and instrument by which ownership subsequently passed to the Presidential Administration’s Centre were not identified.

Daryo’s current staff page names Fozilbek Yusupov as editor-in-chief.

Source of funding and budget

State Media Monitor found no evidence that Uztelecom currently finances Daryo.uz. Daryo has identifiable commercial income structures. It sells advertising and offers a paid subscription providing advertising-free access. An analysis of company data reported that Simple Networking Solutions earned total revenue of UZS 16.453 billion in 2025, paid UZS 4.655 billion in taxes and recorded a net loss of approximately UZS 493.6 million. The report did not disclose the sources making up that revenue. Pinkod’s analysis sets out the figures.

State Media Monitor could not identify a budget appropriation, published accounts, audited financial statements, capital contributions from the state owner or a breakdown between advertising, subscriptions, public contracts and other income. Although the corporate record indicates that 2025 financial statements were filed, their detailed contents were not publicly accessible.

Editorial independence

Daryo is wholly owned by a state institution operating under the Presidential Administration. That ownership gives the state institution the corporate power to appoint or replace management, and State Media Monitor identified no independent board or protected editorial appointment procedure limiting that authority.

The Centre’s institutional role also creates a direct connection to government communications. Cabinet Resolution No. 796 of 17 December 2025 assigned the Centre responsibility for organising podcasts about the state social-insurance system through Daryo.uz, Kun.uz and Qalampir.uz during 2025 and 2026. This documents coordination of specified public-information content involving Daryo, although it does not by itself establish government direction of every part of the portal’s output.

The existing profile’s broader claims, that Daryo routinely follows government priorities, avoids criticism and is more flexible on social matters, were not independently tested through content analysis during this review and have been omitted.

AI and digital policy

State Media Monitor could not identify a published Daryo policy governing generative artificial intelligence, mandatory human verification, model provenance or audience disclosure, and could not establish the extent of AI adoption in production.

Classification rationale

Daryo.uz remains classified Captured Public or State Managed/Owned Media (CaPu).

It is wholly state-owned and state-governed. Simple Networking Solutions LLC, the company identified in Daryo’s own imprint, is wholly owned by the Media Content Production Centre under the Administration of the President of Uzbekistan. The current ownership record identifies the Centre as the sole participant with a 100 per cent interest. No independent governing body or protected appointment procedure was identified.

Its predominant state financing has not been established. Daryo has advertising and subscription income, and Simple Networking Solutions reported substantial revenue in 2025. State Media Monitor identified no budget appropriation or accessible revenue breakdown and therefore could not determine whether direct or indirect public support constitutes more than half of its funding.

Its editorial independence is structurally compromised. A state institution under the Presidential Administration holds all corporate ownership, no independent mechanism protects editorial appointments, and a government resolution assigns the owning Centre responsibility for organising specified public-information content through Daryo. These findings establish institutional state influence without relying on untested content characterisations.

The ownership and editorial conditions of the State Media Matrix are met, while the funding condition required for State-Controlled classification has not been established. The CaPu classification therefore remains appropriate. If future accounts show that public financing constitutes the majority of Daryo’s income, the classification should be reviewed for possible movement to SC.

September 2026