Critics lashed out at Twitter Monday for allowing a senior Taliban figure's account to remain active while the fundamentalist group was storming the Afghan capital of Kabul.
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Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has been active on Twitter since 2017. Over the weekend, he tweeted live updates as the Islamic militant group usurped power of Afghanistan, forcing Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to flee the country and triggering the rushed evacuation of foreign forces, including American ones.
Though his account is not verified, Mujahid has 280,000 followers and is frequently cited by major news outlets. His account identifies as the "Official Twitter Account of the Spokesman of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan" – as the Taliban now calls the country.
The Taliban is known for its brutality and especially for its misogyny and violence against women. The fact that Mujahid's Twitter account remains active has called the social media giant's so-called "community standards" into question.
Why on God's green Earth does the Taliban spokesman have an active Twitter account but not the former President of the United States?
Who's side is the AMERICA BASED Big-Tech companies on? https://t.co/wzQyzQ1lZX
— Rep. Madison Cawthorn (@RepCawthorn) August 15, 2021
Users pointed out the jarring dissonance of allowing Mujahid to remain active on the platform, while former President Trump's account remains permanently suspended, in line with Twitter's decision January
Conservative critics denounced Twitter's double standards.
French politician Jerome Riviere tweeted, "Freedom and democracy are not doing well when #Twitter continues to ban #Trump's account but relays the #Taliban spokesperson's without any second thoughts."
Adrian Hilton, a conservative academic and lecturer on political philosophy in the UK, said, "Twitter banned Donald Trump for expressing support for rioters who stormed the US Capitol. Twitter permitted the Taliban official spokesman to live-tweet Mujahideen terror, the acquisition of arms, storming the Afghanistan capital, and the occupation of the presidential palace."
Twitter was contacted by several media outlets on the issue but had no immediate response.
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