The Taliban Is Not Selling Armored American Tanks
The Claim
The Taliban is selling U.S.-supplied armored vehicles via social media.
News posted on
Emerging story
Many images and stories are circulating about the Tablian’s access to the arsenal of weaponry and supplies that the U.S. has in Afghanistan. These images have been conflated, and a satirical Instagram post about the Taliban selling U.S.-supplied armored vehicles through social media has been viewed by some as fact rather than as satire as intended by those who made the original post. The Pakistani Tribune story and image, which shows the social media selling details overlaid on an image of an Afghani in a U.S.-supplied armored vehicle, is an image that is being circulated heavily as fact.
Misbar’s Analysis
MENA: It can be challenging to know what is true and false regarding current events in Afghanistan and the movements and actions of the Taliban. This specific claim is false and mushroomed and spread based on a satirical post, mushroomed, on Instagram in July. Others on social media took this satire as truth or potential truth and conflated this information with images circulated of Afghanis with U.S. armored vehicles and other military supplies.
Yes, the Taliban is in control of a vast array of military supplies. Including “more than 2,000 armored vehicles, U.S. Humvees, and up to 40 aircraft potentially including UH-60 Black Hawks,” according to current and former military officials using current intelligence assessments of the situation in Afghanistan. Yet, there is no evidence that the Taliban are selling these items.
Still, it is unclear how much of the arsenal still in Afghanistan has fallen into the hands of the Taliban and how much is still held by the collapsing Afghan National Security Force. “We don't have a complete picture, obviously, of where every article of defense materials has gone, but certainly a fair amount of it has fallen into the hands of the Taliban,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday, The Hill reported.
It will take time for precise information about military equipment and who has access to it becomes clear. The claim that the Taliban is selling such equipment on social media is false. This idea gained traction after a satirical post was shared on Instagram last month.
