INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Facebook recently added the head of one of Afghanistan&s most important domestic aid groups to its Dangerous Individuals terror blacklist,
The Intercept news organization reported.The news organization reported that Matiul Haq Khalis — head of the Afghan Red Crescent Society,
or ARCS and a former Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) negotiator — was added to the company&s censorship list in late April, joining a
group of thousands of people and organizations deemed too dangerous to freely discuss or use the platform, including alleged terrorists,
hate groups, drug cartels, and mass murderers.But Facebook&s designation now means that the list, ostensibly created and enforced to stop
offline harm, could disrupt the work of a globally recognized organization working to ease the immiseration of tens of millions of
civilians, The Intercept reported.After the collapse of the United States -backed government and withdrawal of American military forces,
Khalis was named president of the organization, which helps provide health care, food, and other humanitarian aid to civilians there since
its founding in 1934.Following Khalis&s addition to the Dangerous Individuals list under its most restrictive &Tier 1& category for
terrorists due to his IEA affiliation, the over two billion Facebook and Instagram users around the world are now barred from praising,
supporting, or representing Khalis.This means even a photo of him at an official ARCS event, quotation of remarks, or positive mention of
him in the context of the organization&s aid work would risk deletion, as would any attempt on his part to use the company&s platform to
communicate, either in Afghanistan or abroad.John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch questioned the extent to which
letting people speak freely of Khalis would endanger anyone or anything
&How is he ‘dangerous&? He&s like 65 years old
His father was a mujahedeen commander, but what is the problem here?Sifton pointed to groups that are actively using the platform to incite
&There are hate guys in India that are spreading toxic anti-Muslim violence across Facebook, Hindu nationalist groups, hateful Buddhist
groups in Burma, that&s a real problem
Having Khalis online posting about how he cut the ribbon at a new hospital in Afghanistan, that&s not part of the problem.Facebook has at
times defended the breadth of its blacklist by claiming, without evidence, that it&s legally required to censor discussion of certain
entities in order to comply with United States sanctions law, though neither the ARCS nor Khalis are currently named in the Treasury or
State Department&s counterterrorism sanctions lists, The Intercept reported.The post Head of Afghan Red Crescent Society on Facebook
censorship list first appeared on Ariana News.
