Twitter wins massive title backer in opposition to Threads – but it surely’s the Taliban

Twitter has received the help of a giant title backer in opposition to fast-growing rival Threads – but it surely’s the Taliban.

A pacesetter of the hardline Islamist group, which seized energy in Afghanistan in summer season 2021, stated Elon Musk‘s platform was a tolerant place that allowed freedom of speech to thrive.

Anas Haqqani supplied his endorsement in a tweet on Monday, because it emerged that Meta’s new Twitter-like platform had amassed greater than 100 million customers in lower than per week.

Its reputation and brazen similarity to Twitter has irked Musk, who’s made his disdain for Mark Zuckerberg clear in a number of tweets since Threads launched and even threatened to sue.

But Haqqani, whose group has banned girls from college training, public areas, and most jobs, stated Musk had nothing to fret about.

“Other platforms cannot replace it,” he stated of Twitter, citing its dedication to “freedom of speech” and its “public nature and credibility”.

“Twitter does not have an illiberal coverage like Meta,” he added.

Sky News contacted Twitter for remark, however solely acquired a customary poop emoji in return.

Read extra:
Taliban ‘wish to destroy’ rights of girls and women

The Taliban on Twitter

Haqqani, who defended the Taliban’s regressive place on girls’s and women’ rights in a Sky News interview final 12 months, is certainly one of quite a few leaders from the regime with a Twitter account.

The Taliban had a presence on Twitter earlier than Musk purchased the corporate final October. The group is banned from rival platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTook.

Earlier this 12 months, it emerged Taliban figures had develop into verified on Twitter after signing up for the Twitter Blue subscription service, which grants customers with a checkmark beforehand reserved for public figures like athletes, politicians, celebrities, and a few journalists.

The Taliban’s ticks had been eliminated after backlash.

Read extra:
Why Threads might be the Twitter-like that catches on

Threads’s quick begin

Musk’s stance on verification and moderation are among the many causes some customers have sought to depart Twitter.

But no rivals have threatened its place because the go-to social media platform for real-time textual content updates like Threads, which shortly dwarfed the consumer base of different Twitter-likes similar to Bluesky and Mastodon and will quickly meet up with Twitter’s estimated inhabitants of 360-400 million.

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Its aggressively-timed launch got here simply days after Musk introduced non permanent studying limits on Twitter, however with larger limits for individuals who paid for Twitter Blue.

Musk and Zuckerberg’s verbal sparring through their respective apps may finish with the pair having an precise combat, with each billionaires having prompt they need a cage match.