In a letter to Twitter CEO Elon Musk, a group of Republican lawmakers, including Texas Reps. Pat Fallon, Keith Self, and Ronny Jackson, as well as Guam delegate James Moylan, raised concerns that bad actors could be using the platform to spread propaganda.
“Recent reports of Taliban officials purchasing blue checkmarks on Twitter have raised concerns that they may be using the algorithms associated with the program to spread hate, radical idealism, and terrorist propaganda,” they wrote, according to the Washington Times. “It is important to note that the United States does not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.”
While the Taliban do not enjoy international recognition of their regime, the group currently operates as the nation’s de facto government and exerts practical control over the entire country.
[Is that really the biggest problem the Taliban presents? And isn’t this administration the same one that handed Afghanistan back to the Taliban — and abandoned 14,000 Americans while doing so? Maybe Congress could focus on those issues rather than whether Taliban officials get their social-media accounts verified. — Ed]
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