Messenger
Via Whatsapp, the Taliban operated a kind of complaint hotline – now the messenger is fighting back
After their rapid takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban are trying to moderate. And even set up a kind of complaints hotline for the capital Kabul. But Whatsapp wanted nothing to do with it. And is suddenly criticized from two sides.
The Taliban have taken control of Afghanistan at an unprecedented rate, and the world has had little choice but to watch in shock. So far, the feared relapse in times before the conflict has not happened, the Taliban are moderate. And even tried to gain the trust of the population with a kind of hotline. Now Whatsapp is doing you a disservice. And has to accept criticism for that.
The complaint hotline, advertised on Twitter by a spokesman on Sunday, is intended as a way to report violent crimes, looting or other problems in the capital Kabul to the new rulers as a civilian. In the past, the Taliban had offered similar numbers in other captured cities.
Hotline switched off
The number fits into the general current strategy of the Taliban, which is actually known as arch-conservative extremists. In recent days, they have been emphatically moderate, declaring that they do not want to harm the “life, property and honor” of the Afghans. After extreme oppression of women and girls had been observed in the past, women were now invited to participate in the government, for the first time a commander had himself interviewed by a journalist. The hotline should probably also be part of the strategy.
However, the Taliban had made the bill without Whatsapp. After the parent company Facebook was accused of providing a stage for the Taliban, the Messenger also took action against them. Although the chats themselves are encrypted, because group names, descriptions and the images chosen for the groups remained unencrypted, the messenger could specifically search for those related to the Taliban, explained a spokesman “CNBC”. And also shut down the complaint platform in the course of a clean-up of “official Taliban channels” on Tuesday.
“The step is going in the wrong direction”
Now the social media giant has to put up with surprising criticism of its approach. Because: Experts from the region see the measure as unhelpful. “If the Taliban suddenly can no longer use Whatsapp, it will only make it harder for Afghans to communicate in a panic situation. The move is going in the wrong direction,” Ashley Jackson, a local Oxfam aid worker, told the Financial Times. “It doesn’t help the Afghans, it’s just symbolic politics.”The Taliban would be the de facto government. And the Afghans currently need all the help they can get. And if it came from the Taliban. “If you do one thing, it’s trying to be law and order,” she is convinced. The hotline would also be a response to reports that there had been looting.
A victim of this looting was grateful for the help offered. “The Complaints commission wants to take care of this,” reports the women’s rights activist on Twitter after a group of self-appointed Taliban looted her office. “They want to talk to you and see our office soon.”In other regions of the country, similar hotlines had in the past ensured that loot had returned to the owners for plunder, various NGOs report, according to the “FT”.
Controversial decision
As a reason for the lockdown, Facebook told several media outlets that the Taliban in the United States is considered a terrorist organization. But this reason is also under criticism. “Then why don’t you lock them up until you take power? Why not years ago?asks Jackson. The fact that the Taliban use social networks is actually nothing new, social scientist Peter Singer, who specializes in military technology, explains to “Vice”. “They have been using different platforms for years. Many see the Taliban as primitive, but they use all means from social media to drones. We build it, they use it.”
One reason for Facebook’s late reaction may be that the group might otherwise be in a position to hand over the official government channels to the ruling Taliban. This decision is obviously not to be made. It is not in a position to determine the legitimacy of governments, the group told CNBC. But rely ” on the authorities of the international community.”
The Taliban feel unfairly treated by the ban. They should ask Facebook, “who claim to be the advocates for freedom of expression,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid tried to dissuade a question about women’s rights at a press conference. He got approval for this from an unexpected direction. “Lol. but he is right, ” wrote the son of former President Donald Trump Junior on Twitter to a clip of the announcement.
Source: “Financial Times”, CNBC, “Vice”, “Washington Post”
