Fact-check: Taliban ‘hanging’ man from helicopter in Afghanistan or something else?

By Team Newsable | First Published Sep 1, 2021, 4:12 PM IST

The 12-second video was shared by several people; journalists promoted a false claim on Monday and Tuesday that the Taliban had just executed a man by hanging him from a helicopter.

A short video clip of a man 'hanging' from a helicopter went viral on social media with news channels and multiple users picking it up and claiming the Taliban executing a man in Afghanistan.

Ending the 20-year long war, the United States completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan on August 30. And reportedly the US troops had abandoned military equipment and those not dismantled have been taken over by the Taliban.

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The 12-second video was shared by several people, journalists promoted a false claim on Monday and Tuesday that the Taliban had just executed a man by hanging him from a helicopter.

Another landmark picture taking the world in a new era of terror.
Taliban hang a person, presumed to be an American interpreter, from a U.S. Blackhawk helicopter.
The left over US helicopters will now be used in like this. pic.twitter.com/8q6C5bo4IB

— Sudhir Chaudhary (@sudhirchaudhary)

Also, other leading outlets such as ZEE5, Aaj Tak, Navbharat Times, Dainik Bhaskar, Amar Ujala, Zee Hindustan, India TV, ANI, MSN India, Zee News, NDTV, Republic and ABP News, and OpIndia carried the news and ran a story.

Though there is no certainty about when the video was shot, a closer analysis of the video and other videos show that the man was not being executed but was hanged with a harness.

Several news outlets and fact-checkers reported that the person had been tasked with trying to fix a flag on a public building but had failed to do so.

کندهار تازه صورت حال pic.twitter.com/HM2CP2aZHg

— احمد صاحب (@haji52292547)

Also, various other images and videos show that the man dangling from the chopper was alive, moving and waving his arms. The person was suspended by a harness that wrapped under his arms, not a noose around the neck.

According to journalists based in Afghanistan, the man seen in the video was a Talib who was attempting to hoist a Taliban flag on a government building but ultimately failed.

The story was also published by international media outlets like the New York Post and was shared by American politicians and political commentators.

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