Social media and Taliban: The dilemma and Double Standards
The world is shocked by the horrifying scenes of Afghan people swarming the Kabul International Airport to escape Afghanistan as it is their last resort since the Taliban has taken over the control of the country. The speed at which the Taliban has taken over the Capital has surprised everyone. The plight of Afghan citizens especially women and children are worrisome due to the horrendous past.
Amidst the chaos, the live updates of the Taliban taking over Kabul were given by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid using his Twitter handle. He has nearly 297k followers also Dr.M.Naeem, official spokesman for international media and Suhail Shaheen, spokesman of the political office of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan have nearly 212K and 359k followers respectively as of 17th of August 2021.
In 2005-06 they launched a website named Alemarah, also used social media platforms like Twitter to spread their propaganda. In 2012, in an interview organised by Asharq Al-Awsat Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi emphasized the importance of the internet and how it helps them to reach out to people and went on saying “More important than visiting websites is winning over the minds and hearts of the masses who visit websites”. Google removed a Taliban developed mobile application from its play store due to its involvement in hate speech in 2016.
From this, one can understand that the extremist organization has understood the importance of the internet and how it helps reach out to the masses. But still, it remained in a mass social media platform like Twitter, which has come as a surprise to many. The former US President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was permanently suspended, citing that his tweets led to his supporters storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Many republicans like Claudia Tenney condemned twitter for its hypocrisy.
Following the violence by the Taliban especially in the past few days, their use of platforms like Twitter has come into question. Facebook, another social media giant, has banned the Taliban under “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations”. The US has not listed the Afghan Taliban under the “Foreign Terrorist Organization” but it recognizes them as a revolutionary insurgent group due to various political reasons. Hence, these companies don’t have a legal obligation to ban them from using their platforms.
Though Twitter is also used by citizens of Afghanistan to seek help during a time of crisis, glorification of how the Taliban has captured Kabul using violence is also shared using the same platform. This might encourage young minds to join such violent extremist organizations during a time of political instability.
It is time to introspect the policy and guidelines of these private giants. In this digital era information spreads like fire and information itself is turned into a weapon, hence they need to be regulated. During a time of crisis, one misinformation may further add fuel and incite violence. Hence, literacy regarding misinformation and disinformation becomes a need of the hour. This social media giant must focus on stopping the spread of hateful messages and review its policies.