In a society where war, authoritarianism, corruption, institutional collapse, and ethnic politics have shadowed the collective psyche for decades, journalism cannot be a neutral or merely technical profession. In such a society, journalism either becomes a tool for legitimizing power or a force for challenging it. It either transforms into a machine for producing silence or a means of defending truth. Over the past two decades, Afghanistan has lived through both realities: media outlets that served power, money, projects, and ethnic networks, and media outlets that strived to stand against political degradation and the collapse of public morality.
The Hasht-e Subh Daily is a media outlet that, since its founding, has endeavored to place the critique of power at the forefront of its work and to keep the torch of critical reasoning alive. On the occasion of its twentieth anniversary, it is worth revisiting the importance of critical journalism during this catastrophic period in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. It is equally worth noting that the Hasht-e Subh Daily, in the years following the Taliban’s return, has maintained its critical stance. Unlike many media outlets that either fell silent, retreated into Islamic extremism, or quietly accommodated the Taliban order, this outlet has worked to ensure that the Taliban’s official narrative does not become the only narrative available and has defended society’s right to know. That steadfastness is not merely a media position; it is a form of resistance against the complete Talibanization of public space.
While many media outlets lost the language of criticism under the pressure of censorship, economic fear, and security threats, the Hasht-e Subh Daily managed to defend critical journalism. The significance of this goes beyond publishing news or reports; it lies in preserving the very possibility of inquiry. The Taliban fear questions above all else; every question has the potential to fracture absolute authority. This is not to say that any media outlet is without flaws. Critical journalism survives only when it turns the lens on itself as well. But the fundamental difference between a media outlet that consciously stands against tyranny and one that becomes a machine for justifying power is the difference between defending truth and surrendering to domination.
The reality is that Afghanistan’s journalism has been contaminated by ethnic politics, NGO-ization, and corruption. A large portion of media outlets, rather than serving as institutions of public awareness, have become vehicles for ethnic politics and commercial enterprise. Many operate not based on social mission, but on the interests of funders, embassies, projects, and power circles. In such an environment, truth is sacrificed, and journalism becomes a commodity. The following sections examine these issues in greater detail.
One of the most serious crises facing Afghanistan’s journalism is the ethnicization of the media. Outlets that should foster cross-ethnic dialogue and collective reasoning instead, in many cases, reproduce ethnic hatred and reinforce dangerous social divisions. Many media outlets, consciously or not, have become spokespersons for ethnic identities. As a result, public opinion has been shaped not around justice, freedom, and human rights, but around prejudice, hatred, and ethnic rivalry.
This is precisely the context in which critical journalism becomes meaningful. It means standing against every form of power that attempts to appropriate truth, whether that power is a government, an ethnic group, an international institution, or capital markets. Critical journalism cannot be held captive by ethnic affiliations, because its foundation is critique, not bias. An outlet that subordinates editorial judgment to ethnic identity has ceased to be journalism; it is a propaganda vehicle for a political agenda.
Beyond ethnic politics, NGO-ization has dealt a serious blow to Afghanistan’s journalism. After 2001, a massive influx of foreign money entered the country, and many media outlets were established within the framework of that project-based economy. The result was that many outlets, rather than reflecting the bitter realities of society, began producing content compatible with the language of donor projects. Terms such as “capacity building,” “awareness raising,” and “empowerment,” along with bureaucratic jargon, gradually displaced critical language.
The NGO mindset is fundamentally at odds with the spirit of critical journalism. Critical journalism has a duty to expose power relations, while the NGO mindset typically seeks to accommodate power, secure funding, and define deliverable projects. In that environment, the media ceases to be the voice of the people and becomes part of the bureaucratic machinery of development. Rescuing journalism from NGO-ization is therefore a genuine necessity. The media must return to truth, to society, and to the critique of structures of domination.
The crisis of journalism, however, extends beyond corruption and NGO-ization. Afghanistan now confronts an even more dangerous phenomenon: the Talibanization of freedom of expression. The Taliban have not only censored media outlets; they have attempted to hollow out the very concept of free expression from within. Under Taliban rule, freedom of expression is tolerated only insofar as it poses no threat to power. A media outlet is permitted to function only if it serves as a propaganda arm of the status quo. That is the moment journalism stops speaking truth and becomes a tool of social control.
The Talibanization of freedom of expression does not mean only the removal of journalists or the closure of media outlets. It means the production of fear, the normalization of self-censorship, and the erosion of critical reasoning. When journalists cannot ask questions out of fear of detention, elimination, or unemployment, society gradually loses the capacity to question as well. A society that stops asking questions will, in time, grow accustomed to obedience.
A further dimension of Afghanistan’s media crisis is the extreme commercialization of news outlets. Many have placed the market, rather than truth, at their center. In such outlets, click counts, advertising revenue, and profit take precedence over truth, ethics, and social responsibility. A media outlet fully governed by market logic will inevitably drift toward sensationalism, fear-mongering, and superficial entertainment. The market tends to resist deep and uncomfortable truths, preferring quick consumption and immediate emotional reactions.
Commercial media outlets have, in many cases, also contributed to the Talibanization of free expression. To protect their economic interests, they are willing to accommodate any power. An outlet focused solely on commercial survival will ultimately sacrifice truth for economic security. The struggle against the dominance of capital over media is therefore inseparable from the broader struggle to save journalism.
The twentieth anniversary of the Hasht-e Subh Daily is not merely the anniversary of a media outlet; it is a reminder of a historical necessity: that we still need media willing to stand against vulgarity, lies, censorship, and corruption. Media outlets are prepared to pay the price of truth. Media that strengthen the capacity for thought rather than manufacture fear. Afghanistan today needs the revival of critical reasoning more urgently than ever. A society that loses its capacity for critical thought is easily made prey to tyranny, fundamentalism, and deception. Critical journalism is one of the last lines of defense for that capacity. If that line falls, society will sink deeper into darkness.
Defending critical journalism is defending the possibility of truth: the right to ask, the doubt right, and the right to think. Perhaps the most meaningful thing about the Hasht-e Subh Daily’s twentieth anniversary is precisely this reminder: that it is still possible to stand against the machinery of lies, and that freedom of expression can still be defended, not as a slogan, but as a hard and unrelenting struggle.
You can read the Persian version of this analysis here:
