KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghanistan Journalist Support Organization in a report on Tuesday said the Taliban disseminates “inaccurate” information to manipulate public opinion.
The report alleges that Taliban attributes many of the killings of former security force members to personal enmities and shifts the blame for mysterious killings and acts of torture onto unidentified armed groups.
The watchdog also criticized the Taliban for controlling and altering media content to serve its own interests.
“They respond to women’s and civil society protests in a stereotypical manner, dismissing them as foreign agendas and portraying protesters as individuals seeking opportunities to leave the country,” the report stated.
Since the fall of the previous government, the report highlighted that “rights to access information, freedom of expression, and media freedom have been eradicated.” The Taliban, it said, have imposed strict guidelines on media outlets, detailing what topics and content are off-limits.
According to the report, the Taliban has sent letters to media organizations in Kabul and other provinces, outlining red lines for journalists and media workers. “No media outlet or journalist is allowed to cover topics or produce programs that the Taliban deem contrary to its rule,” the report reads.
The watchdog further claimed that several Taliban institutions, including the Directorate of Intelligence, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Information and Culture, and the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, have established special branches to closely monitor media activities across Afghanistan.
As the Taliban continues to exert control over information and restrict media freedoms, the report raises concerns about the further erosion of press freedom and the increasing difficulty of accessing reliable information in Afghanistan.
