Amid Threads rollout, Taliban leader says favours Twitter over Meta for 'freedom of speech'

In an unexpected development, a Taliban leader, Anas Haqqani, has expressed support for Elon Musk and praised Twitter for its commitment to freedom of speech. This comes at a time when Musk is engaged in a rivalry with Mark Zuckerberg, who recently launched the Twitter-rival Threads.

What did the Taliban leader say?

He commended Twitter for its freedom of speech and the public nature and credibility it offers. Comparing it to Meta's policies, he said that the Facebook owner restricts the Taliban leaders from freely sharing their views, and claimed that Twitter allows the group to communicate their message more openly and also reach a wider audience.

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Taking to Twitter, Haqqani posted: "Twitter has two important advantages over other social media platforms. The first privilege is the freedom of speech. The second privilege is the public nature & credibility of Twitter. Twitter doesn't have an intolerant policy like Meta. Other platforms cannot replace it."

Taliban, Meta and Twitter

The Taliban maintains an active Twitter account under the username 'Islamic Emirate Afg'. It has about 35,000 followers, and enables the Afghanistan rulers to express themselves despite their many controversial and internationally condemned policies.

In contrast Meta, which owns Facebook, has effectively blocked the Taliban, deeming it to be a "Tier 1 designated terrorist organisation." The social media giant's stance on the Taliban is also evident in its search results.

When searching for the term "Taliban" on Facebook, users are greeted with a message warning about associating with dangerous individuals and organisations.

"Are you sure you want to continue? The term you searched for is sometimes associated with activities of Dangerous Individuals and Organizations, which is not allowed on Facebook," reads the warning message.

As per India Today, Facebook has also implemented measures to limit or prevent Taliban-related content on its platform, aligning with its policies against such content.

What the people think about Twitter and Threads

Even as the Taliban leader endorses Twitter over Threads, the platform which is Zuckerberg's rival to Twitter, has seen significant success since its launch.

With over 100 million users within a short span of time, Threads has capitalised on its integration with Instagram.

Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, users are less than pleased. Under Musk's leadership, Twitter workforce has been reduced by 80 per cent and the implementation of changes favouring paid subscribers have sparked criticism.

This approach has raised concerns among users who feel that these changes have negatively impacted their experience on the platform.

(With inputs from agencies)

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