Twitter refused to ban the Taliban from its platform, saying it will monitor its content to make sure its messages are not ‘glorifying violence’.
Meanwhile, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram (both owned by Facebook), TikTok, and YouTube have all banned and terminated accounts that are promoting or praising the Taliban.
In a statement, the social media giant said that that it will ‘continue to proactively enforce our rules and review content that may violate Twitter rules, specifically policies against the glorification of violence, platform manipulation, and spam.’
However, it is worth noting that Twitter used this same justification to permanently ban former President Donald Trump, after the infamous January 6 Capitol Riot.
Twitter defended the company’s decision to allow Taliban-related accounts to remain active, arguing that Afghans are using the platform to seek help and refuge.
Facebook on the other hand, which also banned Trump’s account, had the Taliban banned for years because the company considers it a ‘dangerous group.’
Twitter’s ‘double standard’ angered Trump supporters and conservatives.
At the time of this writing, two Taliban spokesmen named Suhail Shaehee and Zabihullah Mujahid have more than 351,000 and 310,000 Twitter followers. Their Twitter accounts have been active for years.
Rep. Doug Lamborn sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey on Tuesday expressing concerns about the Taliban being allowed to use the platform to disseminate their message.
“Why does Twitter allow two Taliban spokesmen to have a platform but restricts the First Amendment Rights of former President Trump?” Lamborn Twitter. “It’s past time to hold #BigTech accountable. #Taliban.”
Lamborn wrote in his letter that it’s clear that the Taliban falls under the ‘violent organization category.’
“In my review of these accounts, I did not find a single fact check on any of their tweets, nor any warnings for false or misleading content,” Lamborn wrote.”
“These propaganda updates usually assert that the overthrow has been largely peaceful, despite reports to the contrary,” Lamborn continued. “It is impossible to see how the accounts of Zabihullah Mujahid and Yousef Ahmandi do not violate your policies.”
Meanwhile, Republican Madison Cawthorn tweeted: “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?” Madison added.
New York Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney also echoes Madison’s comments, tweeting: “The Taliban Spokesman has a Twitter account without any problem. Meanwhile, President Trump is banned from the platform.”
“Something is very wrong here,” Tenney added.
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