Old Video of Pakistani Taliban Flogging a Woman Shared as Recent
The Claim
Taliban flog a woman in the streets for wearing red pants.
News posted on
Emerging story
MENA: An Iranian verified account on Twitter shared a video of the Taliban flogging a girl in the streets because she was wearing red pants. The claim then began circulating on social media, with users saying the Taliban have not changed their old ways, despite saying that they will.
Misbar’s Analysis
MENA: The Misbar team conducted a reverse image search using Tin Eye and found that the video has been uploaded since 2009, as pictured below.
Upon further investigation, the video source was found in an article in the Wall Street Journal written on April 4th, 2009, as seen in the screenshot below.
The flogging incident took place in the Swat Valley in Pakistan and not in Afghanistan users share the. The article adds that the woman was being punished for allegedly having an affair with her father-in-law and not for wearing red pants as claimed. Accusations began when she was seen accompanied by him leaving the house, while under Taliban Islamic law, a woman may only be accompanied by her husband or blood relative. She was punished after an investigation despite not having an official trial in an Islamic court.
Given the findings, it can be confirmed that the video and claim are misleading. The incident occurred in 2009, over 12 years ago in Pakistan under the Pakistani branch of the Taliban, and is unrelated to current events in Afghanistan.
