Twitter repeatedly dodged the question of whether the Taliban were a terrorist organization and subject to disciplinary action, a thorny issue in light of the Big Tech platform’s decision to ban former President Donald Trump.

Representatives for the company repeatedly declined to comment on the Taliban’s status as a “terrorist organization” or “violent organization” per the site’s rules, despite emails from the Washington Examiner Tuesday linking to accounts that may have violated Twitter’s terms of use.

“The situation in Afghanistan is rapidly evolving. We’re also witnessing people in the country using Twitter to seek help and assistance. Twitter’s top priority is keeping people safe, and we remain vigilant. We are taking steps to safeguard the voices of those on our service who represent protected groups including, humanitarian workers, journalists, news media organisations, human rights activists, and others,” a Twitter spokesperson responded Wednesday afternoon when asked whether the Taliban’s presence on the platform violated company rules regarding violent organizations. “Our strong and dedicated teams are providing 24/7 global coverage to proactively enforce our rules at scale and swiftly actioning content that violates the Twitter Rules, specifically policies prohibiting glorification of violence, abusive behaviour, hateful conduct, wishes of harm, and gratuitous gore.”

TALIBAN SPOKESMEN USE TWITTER TO BROADCAST UPDATES ON AFGHANISTAN AS TRUMP REMAINS BANNED

When asked for clarification on the Taliban’s violations of the company’s rules, Twitter declined to comment, pledging the company would “circle back should that change.”

Further pressed on whether the social media giant “has no comment on the Taliban’s status as a violent organization per the site rules,” the Twitter spokesperson responded later that day, “We’ve no comment beyond shared statement at this time.”

Users “may not threaten or promote terrorism or violent extremism,” according to the “Violent organizations policy” section of the Twitter Rules page.

Twitter provides a list of criteria for an organization to be considered violent or engaged in terrorism. The three criteria state a group must “identify through their stated purpose, publications, or actions as an extremist group; have engaged in, or currently engage in, violence and/or the promotion of violence as a means to further their cause; and target civilians in their acts and/or promotion of violence.”

The U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence describes the Taliban as “a Sunni Islamist nationalist and pro-Pashtun movement founded in the early 1990s that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 until October 2001.”

“In the years leading up to the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States, the Taliban provided a safe haven for al-Qa’ida. This gave al-Qa’ida a base in which it could freely recruit, train, and deploy terrorists to other countries,” the DNI added.

Approximately 2,448 U.S. servicemen and women have been killed in Afghanistan through April 2021, and a staggering 66,000 members of Afghan national military and police lost their lives during that time frame, according to the Associated Press. The Taliban and other opposition groups have seen a total of 51,191 casualties, the outlet added.

Twitter currently hosts multiple accounts owned and operated by Taliban spokespeople, including profiles operated by Zabihullah Mujahid and Suhail Shaheen.

Mujahid, who describes himself as a spokesman of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has approximately 330,000 followers and has been on the site since 2017.

Over the years, Mujahid has tweeted moment-by-moment updates on Taliban attacks against U.S. forces, Afghan police, and Afghan Army soldiers. He regularly refers to Taliban insurgents as “martyr seekers,” referring to religious martyrdom as the most glorious form of death in Islam. The Taliban spokesman also regularly celebrated the deaths of Afghan authorities, cheerfully describing buildings “littered with enemy corpses.”

In recent weeks, Mujahid has begun posting video updates capturing the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan. As in the past, the Taliban spokesperson frequently reports Taliban casualties and numbers of combatant forces killed, often using vague terms such as “enemies” or “gunmen” to refer to a multitude of opposition forces.

Shaheen has been on the platform since 2019 and has approximately 370,000 followers. He lists his position as a “member of the Negotiations Team and [Political] Office Spokesman for International Media.” Shaheen refrains from commenting directly on Taliban-sanctioned killings.

The Taliban have taken complete control of Afghanistan after a swift and successful military campaign through the country that culminated in capturing the capital city of Kabul on Sunday.

Taliban control of the country has prompted concern from world leaders due to the group’s decadeslong history of social oppression and violent, theocratic rule of Afghanistan – especially as Taliban officials have advocated for a nation founded and governed by the principles of Sharia Law, including the subjugation of women, violent punishments for offenses, and execution of dissidents.

“Our scholars will decide whether girls are allowed to go to school or not,” Taliban spokesman Waheedullah Hashimi said Wednesday. “There will be no democratic system at all because it does not have any base in our country.”

“We will not discuss what type of political system should we apply in Afghanistan because it is clear,” Hashimi continued. “It is Sharia law, and that is it.”

Afghan citizens attempting to flee Taliban rule have evacuated via the Kabul airport with assistance from the United States and other allies. Evacuees have been desperate to escape the Taliban despite limited resources, with some clinging to the exterior of aircraft before falling to their deaths. In one instance, a stowaway was crushed to death after attempting to ride in the wheel well of a plane.

After citizens attempted to protest the group’s occupation Wednesday, Taliban forces opened fire on the crowd, wounding dozens and killing at least three people.

Images have surfaced of the Taliban parading captives through the streets with nooses around their necks and their skin blackened.

Individuals in Kabul have expressed fears of harassment and intimidation from Taliban forces as they attempt to evacuate, despite the group declaring Tuesday a general “amnesty” for all in the nation.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who acknowledged at his first press conference after the fall of Kabul the U.S. lacked the troops to assure safe passage to the airport for U.S. citizens attempting to flee Afghanistan, insisted a current agreement with the Taliban would allow for credentialed travelers to proceed to the airport.

Twitter’s decision not to censor the Taliban comes as other Big Tech giants, including Facebook and TikTok, have maintained firm bans on the glorification of the Taliban on their platforms.

Trump remains permanently banned from Twitter after the company’s lengthy deliberation on the issue following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

Twitter said the former president breached its rules for referring to his supporters as “American Patriots” and for saying they “will not be disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!”

Twitter, which took issue with Trump’s announcement via the platform that he would not attend the inauguration of President Joe Biden, banned the former president on Jan. 8, citing a breach of the platform’s “glorification of violence” policy.

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“In the context of horrific events this week, we made it clear on Wednesday that additional violations of the Twitter Rules would potentially result in this very course of action,” Twitter said at the time. “Our public interest framework exists to enable the public to hear from elected officials and world leaders directly. It is built on a principle that the people have a right to hold power to account in the open.”

Twitter’s announcement continued: “As such, our determination is that the two Tweets above are likely to inspire others to replicate the violent acts that took place on January 6, 2021, and that there are multiple indicators that they are being received and understood as encouragement to do so.”

Original Location: Twitter declines to classify Taliban as ‘violent organization’ despite tweets celebrating mass killings

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