The Taliban consistently denies the presence of ISIS Khorasan in Afghanistan whenever the topic arises, a claim contradicted by their daily actions. Why does the group persist in distorting reality despite knowing its claim is largely false? Are people so naïve as to fall for such absurd assertions? The bitter truth is that individuals are always willing to believe falsehoods over reality, and unfortunately, their numbers are not insignificant. In many cases, people prefer to perceive lies as truth rather than face the discomfort of reality. Reality can be bitter and painful, requiring greater courage and investment to accept. Meanwhile, deception, with its complex and enticing concoction, preys more effectively on its victims, offering a sweeter, more appealing, and more comforting facade. Reality, on the other hand, does not exert as much effort to attract and captivate. Reality thrives on high self-confidence, yet in competition with deception, it often falls victim to the cunning and deceitful zeitgeist. This is an era where people, habituated to lies, have little inclination to accept the harsh and calamitous reality of their lives, preferring any effort that provides immediate gratification and presents less unsettling, tempting, simplistic, and readily available answers over those that are tantalizing and dubious, perpetually attempting to implant false certainty and perpetual ambiguity.
In other words, people often adhere to a religious faith that seeks simplistic, straightforward, colloquial, immutable answers to every complex and perplexing issue, hence fostering a culture ripe for the dissemination of lies by governments and other political entities. Thus, people are not inherently foolish; rather, they are made to be so. A vast and pervasive propaganda apparatus tirelessly works to dumb down the populace, preventing reality from taking root in the minds and times of citizens. Hence, it should come as no surprise that some people still believe the lies of the Taliban, even professing affection for them. Religious zeal fosters a fanaticism that, no matter how much effort is invested in enlightening its adherents, plunges deeper into the quagmire of delusional devotion. This is the most dangerous effect of political deception.
The Role of Deception in Propaganda
Propaganda has been termed “information manipulation” benefiting governments, parties, institutions, and groups, with deception being its fundamental element. In every propaganda, a portion of reality is depicted, but more often than not, this reality is so distorted and warped that a lie can easily replace it. The proportion between reality and falsehood does not matter much. First: when the level of acceptable reality (from the propagandist’s perspective) is low, strategic managers of deception must skillfully operate, blurring the line between reality and falsehood with such finesse that audiences mistake falsehood for truth and align with the propagandists. Secondly, propagandists, relying on the high level of good realities, sometimes need to distort the truth, striving to rally people around their objectives. The first scenario requires high-level skills and subtle strategizing, beyond the capability of every propaganda machine; however, the second scenario is simpler and achievable with minimal organization and expense.
Some governments and political groups are so inept that even with the latter approach, they cannot advance their propaganda efforts and consequently suffer defeats from their less powerful adversaries. The former government, which annually spent a considerable amount on propaganda, was one such government. The content and form of government propaganda were so unappealing that they attracted fewer audiences, and often met with ridicule and indifference from the public. These messages even had command problems, with their authors and presenters lacking a high level of literacy, and struggling with the pronunciation of certain words. Government media had very few enthusiasts compared to private media, and no one looked to them as reliable sources of accurate and trustworthy news. These media outlets operated with extreme bias and partisanship in news reporting, often neglecting a significant portion of the unfavorable reality that did not benefit the government.
Now, in the Taliban regime, a situation similar to the previous government is established, with the difference that in that regime, there was a considerable degree of freedom of expression, and private media outlets could disseminate information freely. Whereas, in the current regime, there is no such thing as freedom of expression, and there is no news of free dissemination by private media. In the Taliban government, there is not much distinction between private and state media, and all operate in line with strengthening the policy of suppression and eliminating opposition. In Afghanistan, under Taliban control, only the policy of deceit prevails, and the media propagate any lie fed to them by the propaganda machine of this group without challenge. Lies are not challenged, and therefore, not only is propaganda unpunished, but it is also reinforced.
What remains hopeful and has managed to challenge the propaganda of the Taliban regime is exile media and social networks, which have succeeded in making people more aware of the regime’s deceitful campaigns. The people themselves possess enough common sense to realize, given the current disastrous situation, how close the Taliban’s statements are to reality; a reality that, thanks to exiled media and social networks, is still alive. When citizens see that the ISIS Khorasan occasionally launches deadly terrorist attacks in the country, yet repeatedly hear from Taliban officials and spokespersons on domestic radios and televisions that ISIS has no physical presence in Afghanistan and is completely suppressed, how can they believe the regime’s propaganda?
Sometimes, lies can be appealing and influential, rallying people to achieve a grand political goal. However, the Taliban regime is more incompetent than being able to devise effective deception strategies to manage the minds of citizens. In a situation where exile media and social networks are more trustworthy than Taliban-controlled media – both private and state-owned – the regime in Afghanistan will hardly be able to devise suitable strategies to prevent its propaganda from collapsing. However, this does not mean that we should overlook the Taliban’s policy of deceit. This policy remains dangerously appealing to enthusiasts and staunch defenders in the country and, most importantly, still holds significant governmental power.
You can read the Persian version of this analysis here:
نقش سیاست دروغ در امارت طالبانی