As the Taliban takes over Afghanistan and uses every media outlet available to send out its message, Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) scolded Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey for allowing its representatives to freely speak on the platform.
After the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, Twitter banned former President Donald Trump from speaking on its platform while allowing representatives for some of the world’s most violent and repressive regimes to have a voice. Nothing better put this absurdity on display than on Sunday when several officials for the Taliban regime were tweeting unopposed as Islamist warlords overtook the capital city of Kabul, Afghanistan.
Hey @jack why does the Taliban get an account..?
You see why Americans are pissed about your BS standards? https://t.co/Kyjp0aNpBP
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 15, 2021
Crenshaw was referring to a tweet from the official account of Zabihullah Mujad, spokesman of Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, that currently boasts 277k followers.
“We assured all embassies, diplomatic centers, institutions and places and foreign nationals in Kabul that they will not face any danger. Let everyone be in Kabul with full confidence, the forces of the Islamic Emirate are tasked with strengthening the security of Kabul and all other cities,” the translated tweet read.
Zabihullah has been tweeting for nearly 24 hours straight with updates on the Taliban’s military advancement throughout the region. Throughout that time period, Taliban spokesmen Dr. M. Naeem and Suhail Shaheen have been tweeting from their official accounts.
په افغانستان کې د فتوحاتو په اړه د سیاسي مرستیال محترم ملا برادر اخوند مبارکي پيغام pic.twitter.com/jKBR5bqE0v
— Dr.M.Naeem (@IeaOffice) August 15, 2021
Suhail Shaheen even participated in the spreading of misinformation when he referred to reports of the Mujahideen forcing underage girls into sex slavery as “poisonous propaganda.”
“All those claims that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan forces people to marry their young girls to Mujahideen are totally wrong. It is a poisonous propaganda,” he tweeted.
All those claims that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan forces people to marry their young girls to Mujahideen are totally wrong. It is a poisonous propaganda.
— Suhail Shaheen. محمد سهیل شاهین (@suhailshaheen1) August 15, 2021
According to NBC News, Fawzia Koofi, a women’s rights activist and member of the Afghan delegation working to negotiate peace during the U.S. withdrawal, expressed fear and sadness over the fate that awaits women when the Taliban officially implements its desired government:
Koofi and the provincial official said they had received reports that women were being made to “marry by force.” NBC News has not been able to verify the reports.
While she said she did not believe the practice was widespread, Koofi said that did not mean misconduct was not happening, adding that it was likely that the Taliban’s political office was “disconnected with their military fighters.”
She said she feared women would be “targeted” under Taliban rule. The militant group was “not afraid of the world’s superpowers,” she said, but it was “afraid of women.”
Prior to the U.S. takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban regime barred girls from attending school while mandating they appear in public with full-body coverings and a male escort.
Follow Paul Bois on Twitter @Paulbois39.
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