The Taliban have started paying for blue ticks on Twitter.
The two members ruling party of Afghanistan have signed up for Twitter Blue - a paid-for model of the social media giant with sets users back $8 a month - therefore giving them verification amid their decision to roll back hard won rights for women and other groups in society.
Hedayatullah Hedayat - who boasts 187,000 followers and is the head of the group’s department for “access to information” - is one of the many who have given himself the online status symbol, which used to be given out by the site to figures and organisations they deemed “notable” such as politicians, journalists and businesses but since Elon Musk took over in October.
The Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture boss Abdul Haq Hammad - who has 170,000 followers - also have one among other vocal supporters of their regime like Muhammed Jalal, who praised the site’s new owner and claimed he was “making Twitter great again”.
In October 2021 - just two months after they assumed power following President Joe Biden carrying out his predecessor President Donald Trump’s choice to remove troops from the country after two decades - Donald, who was banned in January 2021 after he encouraged the violent and deadly storming of the Capital Building, called out the decision to keep them on the site.
The 76-year-old reality star politician said: “ We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced.
"This is unacceptable."
