New Delhi: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US Representative George Santos are the latest targets of a Taliban parody account on social media platform ‘X’ that has been making headlines for posts ranging from dark humour to commentary on prominent geopolitical issues.
The account, named ‘Taliban Public Relations Department, Commentary’, was created in July this year. With a blue tick and 67,000 followers, it poses as the official spokesperson of the Taliban.
The account uses a mix of irony, dark humour, and memes to attract and entertain its online audience. ‘Feminists’ and ‘homosexuals’ seem pet peeves. The account also often comments on current events and issues, particularly the Israel-Hamas war, as well as makes fun of itself and its supposed role as the Taliban’s PR department.
In response to Santos’ question on how Hamas “intend to execute gay people in the future”, the parody account responded saying, “Mr Santos, we are very happy that you will not be leaving any offspring. I mean, who wants more of you?” and engaged in further trolling with other users who commented on the post.
Mr Santos, we are very happy that you will not be leaving any offspring. I mean, who wants more of you? https://t.co/IXbpq6smvj
— Taliban Public Relations Department, Commentary (@TalibanPRD__) October 20, 2023
Santos, a Republican politician, is facing 23 federal charges after being indicted twice on several counts including “wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds, lying to Congress” as well as allegations of identity theft and making “unauthorised purchases” using donor money received during his election campaign, according to a report in Intelligencer — a digital platform part of New York Magazine.
Later Saturday, the account also trolled Sunak and referred to him as a “meerkat” and a “puppet of Israel”.
The #British proclaim themselves to be Great, and then they vote for this Meerkat. According to our informants, he is so tiny in stature that he can easily fit in a #Tesco shopping bag.
He is a puppet of #Israel. pic.twitter.com/sJGTTbIZIE
— Taliban Public Relations Department, Commentary (@TalibanPRD__) October 21, 2023
Earlier this week, the account challenged Israel’s claims about its war with Hamas — the Palestinian militant group in control of the Gaza Strip since 2007 — particularly its posting of a purported audio conversation between Hamas operatives, whose authenticity has been called into question by UK media house Channel 4.
“Our government will give you $10 million if you stop lying for 20 minutes,” the Taliban parody account posted in reply to Israel’s post about the purported Hamas operatives.
On 11 October, the account put out a posting saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to send a plane load of samosas to the Israeli Army as a mark of bilateral goodwill.
Prime Minister Modi plans to send a plane load of samosas to the #Israeli Army as a mark of bilateral goodwill. #PalestineUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/MofZjRsBE5
— Taliban Public Relations Department, Commentary (@TalibanPRD__) October 11, 2023
One of the first viral posts of the account was a fake tourism ad for Afghanistan, which invited visitors to enjoy the “real land of the free and the home of the brave”. The account said that tourists would be safe in Afghanistan, as the war was over and the Taliban no longer captured them for ransom.
Visit the magnificent nation of #Afghanistan, the real land of the free and the home of the brave, unlike the Americans.
A rugged country inhabited by muscular men and traditional women. You will be 100% safe since the war is over and we no longer capturing tourists for ransom. pic.twitter.com/NnoCvtDx6g
— Taliban Public Relations Department, Commentary (@TalibanPRD__) September 14, 2023
Closer home, the account, in a different stance, paid a surprising tribute to actor Amitabh Bachchan. Sharing an image of Bachchan, the account wrote that he was an “honorary Afghan citizen” and praised him as a “masculine individual” who was well-liked in Afghanistan. The post went viral instantly as several internet users reacted to it.
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian actor and a masculine individual who is well-liked in Afghanistan. Few people are aware that he is an honorary Afghan citizen. When he visited our magnificent nation in the 1980s, President Najibullah bestowed this distinguished accolade upon him. pic.twitter.com/ZTvupuP7lm
— Taliban Public Relations Department, Commentary (@TalibanPRD__) October 7, 2023
When one user asked about actor Shah Rukh Khan, the account dismissed him as someone who “puts on makeup and dances with feminists”.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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