No, CNN Did Not Praise Taliban For Wearing Masks During Afghan Seizure

Image Credit: Twitter

No, CNN Did Not Praise Taliban For Wearing Masks During Afghan Seizure

Social media users are sharing photos of a purported news report claiming that the US broadcaster CNN praised Taliban fighters for wearing masks.

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Taliban declared a complete seizure in Afghanistan's Kabul on 15 August. Later, a social media post went viral, claiming that the US broadcaster CNN praised the group for wearing masks. The viral posts include a photo that appears as a screengrab of a CNN report. The tickers on the CNN report read, "Breaking News- Taliban fighter responsibly wearing masks".

The post is viral on Twitter.

Varun Gandhi, BJP's MP from Pilibhit, UP, shared the photo.

Vivek Agnihotri and Ashoke Pandit, Indian film-makers too shared the post;


The post is viral on Facebook as well.

Image Credit: Screenshot/Facebook

Claim:

An image is viral claiming that CNN praised the Taliban for wearing masks.

Fact Check:

The Logical Indian fact-check team verified the claim and found it is false. It is a satire by a portal, 'Babylon Bee'.

We found an article published on a website, 'Babylon Bee' on 14 August. The headline is titled, "CNN praises Taliban for wearing masks during attack". It has the same photo as viral on social media.







Image Credit: The Babylon Bee

We checked the website and found that it is a satire site that curates content related to Christians, politics, and everyday life. The website mentions the same in its about us section.


We looked at Twitter and found out that their official handle, 'The Babylon Bee', shared the article on Twitter too. Their bio reads, "Fake news you can trust" and have around 1 million followers.

We also did a Google reverse image search of the photo to see whether they are related to the ongoing Taliban and Afghanistan conflict.

We found that the photo was used by the BBC in its report titled, "Pakistan's army steps up radio wars", published on 15 August 2012. The photo is credited to Reuters, and the title reads, "The Taliban overran Swat under the leadership of Maulana Fazlullah in 2007."


Clearly, a satirical article edited with unrelated old picture has been circulated on social media with a false claim.

If you have any news that you believe needs to be fact-checked, please email us at factcheck@thelogicalindian.com or WhatsApp at 6364000343.

Also Read: Old Video Of Vandalizing Of Ambedkar Statue From Tamil Nadu Shared With False Communal Spin

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Editor : Bharat Nayak
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Creatives : Jakir Hassan

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