The former president has been banned from Twitter since the Capitol riots in January.
Donald Trump has called out Twitter for allowing the Taliban and some of its most prominent spokesmen on the platform whilst he is still banned.
Trump was indefinitely banned from Twitter and Facebook following his role in the Capitol riots in January. Twitter found the former president to be guilty of inciting violence, after he called the rioters “great patriots” and said they were “very special.”
Whilst Trump is still not allowed back on Twitter (or Facebook), the platform has come under fire in recent days for allowing the Taliban and several of its key figures to have a strong presence on the site.
The platform has said it will no ban posts from the militant group but will ensure they abide by its community guidelines. Which is a relief.
Speaking to Newsmax, Trump said: “It’s disgraceful when you think that you have killers and muggers and dictators and horrible – some horrible dictators and countries, and they’re all on but the president of the United States, who had hundreds of millions of people, by the way, he gets taken off.”
Trump is still banned while the Taliban can tweet: "It's disgraceful," the 45th President tells Greg Kelly, how 'horrible dictators' stay online while he remains suspended. pic.twitter.com/JOQFxPp8hv
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) August 19, 2021
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has nearly 330,000 followers and has been posting regular updates from his account during the group’s takeover of Afghanistan and the capital Kabul.
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid has a huge following on Twitter (credit: Twitter)Meanwhile, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, another Taliban spokesman, has more than 67,000 followers.
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A statement from Twitter regarding the Taliban’s presence on the platforms reads: “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 will continue to proactively enforce our rules and review content that may violate Twitter Rules, specifically policies against glorification of violence, platform manipulation and spam.”
Facebook has said that it is continuing to ban content from the Islamist group, and has a dedicated team of Afghan experts working to monitor and remove content linked to the organisation.
