Taliban spokesman complains of Facebook censorship

published 17 August 2021

In the Taliban's first press conference in Kabul, the spokesman for the militant group appeared to take issue with Facebook's ban on Taliban-related content, and claimed such measures violate the syndicate's freedom of speech. On Tuesday, Facebook confirmed it still considers the Taliban a terrorist organization, and will continue to remove any militant group-related posts, images, and videos, per CNBC. Such monitoring has been happening for years, said a Facebook representative.

"This question should be asked to those people who are claiming to be promoters of freedom of speech," said the Taliban's spokesman when reportedly asked about free speech. "I can ask Facebook Company, this question should be asked to them."

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Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.