Afghanistan: Facebook Shuts Down Taliban-Controlled State Media Accounts

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The social network announced that it had closed the accounts of at least two Afghan state media outlets, invoking US law.

Facebook announced on Thursday, July 21, that it had closed the accounts of at least two Afghan state media outlets, citing the need to comply with US law that classifies the Taliban as a terrorist organization.

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The Taliban have made extensive use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter since taking power in August 2021 and exercise tight control over Afghan public media.

The public radio and television group RTA and the state agency Bakhtar complained on Thursday that their Facebook accounts had been closed.

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No praise, support or representation

Meta did not reveal the list of Afghan companies thus banned, while the Facebook accounts of some private media appeared to be working normally on Thursday.

Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid criticized the ban, which he said shows Facebook’s “impatience and intolerance.”

RTA director Ahmadullah Wasiq said in a video statement that his organization’s Dari and Pashto language pages had been shut down on Facebook and Instagram, also owned by Meta, “for unknown reasons.”

“RTA is a national institution, the voice of the Nation,” he declared, regretting this decision.

Targeted Twitter accounts

Bakhtar also called on Facebook to reconsider, saying on Twitter that “the sole purpose of this news agency is to share accurate, timely and comprehensive information with its audience.”

The hashtag “#BanTaliban” trended on Twitter on Thursday, with thousands of users calling on the network to ban Taliban accounts as well.

The Taliban are on the US Treasury Department’s list of terrorist organizations, but the State Department does not classify them as a foreign terrorist organization.

Author: Victoria Beurnez with AFP
Source: BFM TV

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