For whatever it is worth, it appears the Taliban loves Elon Musk and Twitter. How he will react to this display of support, if at all, is unknown. In the midst of Mark Zuckerberg’s battle with Elon Musk over the creation of Threads, a rival to Twitter, a Taliban commander unexpectedly expressed support to the Twitter CEO. Taliban leader Anas Haqqani tweeted on Monday in support of Elon Musk and to thank him for making Twitter a good platform for free speech!
A brief about the Taliban criticizes Zuckerberg’s Meta and Twitter’s management while praising Elon Musk
Haqqani praised Twitter in a tweet that read, “Twitter has two key benefits over other social media platforms. The right to free speech comes first. The credibility and public nature of Twitter constitute the second privilege. Like Meta, Twitter doesn’t have an intolerant policy. Other systems cannot take its place.
The Taliban leader’s preference for Twitter versus Meta (formerly Facebook) is simple to understand. The Taliban has been classified by Facebook as a “Tier 1 designated terrorist organization” in accordance with their regulations.
The Taliban commanders are not free to express their opinions on the platform due to this categorization. Twitter, in comparison, seems to provide them more freedom to express themselves. It’s interesting to note that the Taliban maintains an active Twitter account with 35,000 followers under the name “Islamic Emirate Afg.” They post in the Urdu language on a regular basis to update the account. The Taliban find a platform that enables them to spread their message more widely and freely by using Twitter.
Although terms like “freedom of speech” have no practical use for a party like the Taliban, who frequently promote what might be called regressive policies in Afghanistan. However, the Taliban and its government in Afghanistan do not exactly have a free hand when it comes to expressing themselves on Twitter.
On Meta, however, the word “Taliban” is derogatory. We encountered a message that caused us concern when we searched for the term “Taliban” on Facebook. The notice prompted us to confirm if we wanted to carry with the search and warned that the keyword might be linked to harmful people or groups, which Facebook does not allow.
“Are you certain you want to go on?” The notice stated, “The term you looked for is occasionally linked to actions of Dangerous People and Organizations, which are not permitted on Facebook.
Notably, due to the Taliban’s involvement in actions deemed dangerous or risky, Facebook has taken steps to restrict or block content relating to them. This warning suggests that, in accordance with its policy against such content, Facebook is actively monitoring and taking steps to control the availability of content related to the Taliban on its platform.
