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- A Taliban spokesman said a question about freedom of speech in Afghanistan should be directed to Facebook.
- The spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, made the remarks the group's first press conference since taking Kabul.
- In response, Donald Trump Jr. tweeted, "LOL… Also not wrong."
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When it comes to claims that Facebook is engaged in censorship, Donald Trump Jr. and Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid are in apparent agreement.
-Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) August 17, 2021
On Tuesday, members of the Taliban gave a press conference at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan – their first since taking the capital and driving Afghan President Ashraf Ghani into exile.
In response to a question about the state of freedom of speech under the country's new government, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid deflected, apparently saying that the question should be posed to Facebook instead.
"This question should be asked to them," relayed a translator.
Despite the Taliban's recent victory in Afghanistan, their content remains banned from Facebook due to their classification as a terrorist organization.
"The Taliban is sanctioned as a terrorist organization under US law and we have banned them from our services under our Dangerous Organisation policies," a Facebook spokesperson told the BBC. "This means we remove accounts maintained by or on behalf of the Taliban and prohibit praise, support, and representation of them."
In the US, Republicans frequently allege that social media companies like Facebook are engaged in censorship against conservative voices and opinions.
Trump Jr.'s own father, former President Donald Trump, remains suspended from Facebook for at least the next 2 years after the platform determined the former President to be a public safety risk in the wake of the January 6 Capitol riot.