Taliban Fighter Attempts To Hoist Flag in Afghanistan
The Claim
The Taliban hanged a man from a helicopter and paraded him through the skies in Afghanistan.
News posted on
Emerging story
A viral video circulating on social media depicts a man hanging from a helicopter. The video was also shared by verified users and the New York Post, and the Economic Times. The accompanying claim is that the Taliban have killed the man by hanging and were parading him in the air. The claim comes after the Taliban seized complete power in Afghanistan, including the capital, Kabul.
Misbar’s Analysis
MENA: The claim circulating is misleading. We found the full video, which is almost a minute long. The video shows the man is more likely wearing a harness, as the rope goes under the arms. The man was also seen waving, as shown in the still shots below.
Furthermore, Afghan journalist Bilal Sarwary refuted the claim and clarified on his Twitter that an Afghan pilot had confirmed to him that the man hanging was a Taliban fighter who tried to install a Taliban flag from the air but was unsuccessful. Another video posted to Facebook shows the video from another angle. This time the helicopter hovers over a pole before flying away, confirming attempts to install the Taliban flag, pictured below.
The translated caption reads, “Kandahar: The IAA tried to hoist its flag at the governor's office with the help of a helicopter, but was unsuccessful.”
Given the findings, the Misbar team confirms the claim was misleading and taken out of context. The man is a Taliban fighter. He is alive and attempting to hang a Taliban flag on the pole and was not killed by hanging.
