This week we’ve been overwhelmed by the events in Afghanistan, not least the ISIS attack at Kabul Airport. My colleague, Razan Ibraheem, has been researching extremism in the region for years and has built up huge expertise on the use of social media as part of these wars. I’ve asked her to give us some context and insight on technology as a tool of conflict:

Can you tell me what you saw online after the Kabul attack and how platforms responded?

Straight after the attack on Kabul airport, we saw an increase in pro-Islamic State posts on some of the platforms. ISIS supporters celebrated the attack and referred to it as a victorious “martyrdom operation.” Others glorified the suicide bomber and described him as a “lion” and “ISIS hero.” 

ISIS supporters used alternative spellings for “ISIS'' and “martyrdom” to evade detection when praising and glorifying the Kabul attack. Some supporters created new social media accounts on the day of the attack using the name of the ISIS sucide attacker. 

Although platforms have tried to act quickly to remove ISIS-related content, we can still find some of them live on social media, especially in the comments section. 

In general, can you tell me about how the Taliban has developed their use of social media and communications in recent years?

Despite a history full of violence and oppression, the Taliban claim that they have changed. The extreme group is now vowing to respect human rights in their Islamic Emirate. Can we believe them? 

What certainly has changed is the Taliban’s relationship with technology and their understanding of the power of social media to spread their propaganda and sell their new image. 

In the last few weeks, the group has scaled up their social media presence. Thousands of pro-Taliban accounts have been used to amplify propaganda. They are taking advantage of some social media companies that still allow them to post on their platforms. Pro-Taliban hashtags have been launched celebrating the group taking over Afghanistan. Propaganda videos have also circulated showing members of the Taliban claiming to respect women’s rights and minority religious groups.  

Not surprisingly, this has not lasted long. Gruesome reports emerged from Afghanistan last month about the Taliban killing a well-known TikTok Afghan comedian who mocked the group and its practices. 

For Your Headphones This Weekend: Podcast Slot 

For more on the Taliban’s use of social media, this podcast from The Sunday Show provided useful insights. Emerson T. Brooking of the DFR Lab reflected on the developments he’s witnessed over the past few years, some of which is documented in his book LikeWar: The Weaponization of Social Media. Then the podcast turns to focus on pro-democracy movements and technology with Rose Jackson and Vera Zakem.‍

‍

We’re hiring!

We're looking for a Senior Java Developer. If that's you, check out more details here.

Editor’s Pick: Book Slot

There are some books that do exactly what they say they’re going to do. That’s the case with a relatively recent offering from Carl Bergstrom and Jevin D. West, Calling Bullshit: The Art of Scepticism in a Data-Driven World.

There’s a lot of bullshit online, and especially around data. Whether that be visualisations, statistics, or misunderstood studies, the problem is huge. The book is an enjoyable journey through all the possible landmines just waiting for you, and is a powerful antidote to misinformation.

If you’re looking for some tools to help you call out bullshit, this is the book for you.

Recommended Articles: From the Kinzen Slack channels this week

NiemanLab. Facebook sent a ton of traffic to a Chicago Tribune story. So why is everyone mad at them?

This is a long story but Joshua Benton does a great job of explaining the controversy. Sure, there are issues with the data report Facebook recently announced, but equally media organisations need to think about their role in spreading misinformation. 

Brookings. The challenge of detecting misinformation in podcasting

Valerie Wirtschafter reports that, as part of a research project, she analysed 8,000 episodes of popular political podcasts and found that at least 10% of them contain potential misinformation. In this article she lays out the important role podcasting can play in spreading misinformation and why it so often goes underreported. At Kinzen, we’ve been working on this issue for some time. See blog posts on the US election and Germany, for example.

Boston Globe. A Harvard professor predicted COVID disinformation on the web. Here’s what may be coming next

A profile of Joan Donovan, who’s been leading disinformation research and studies for years.