Is X Becoming a Mouthpiece for Terrorist Propaganda?

Social media has become a double-edged sword in the era of digital connectivity. While it offers extraordinary avenues for global interaction, awareness, and activism, it also provides fertile ground for malicious actors, including terrorist organizations, to propagate extremist ideologies, glorify violence, and recruit new members. Is X Becoming a Mouthpiece for Terrorist Propaganda? Among these platforms, X (formerly Twitter) has emerged as a particularly exploitable medium, with groups like Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (Fitna Al Khawarij) actively using it to spread their agenda.
The TTP, a UN sanctioned terrorist organization, has intensified its online presence in recent months. Its increasing activity on X is especially concerning given the ongoing efforts by the Pakistani state to eliminate the group’s terrorism against the state and people of Pakistan. Despite being a banned outfit, the TTP continues to exploit X’s reach and relative openness to disseminate propaganda targeting the Pakistani populace. This exploitation not only challenges national security but also highlights the broader vulnerabilities of global digital platforms in dealing with terrorist threats.
Let’s examine some the very recent examples which manifests how this medium is being exploited by terrorists. In May alone, Noor Wali Mehsud, the current head of TTP, managed to push out three separate propaganda messages on X. These statements, intended to inspire followers, intimidate opponents, and present a falsely glorified image of the group’s activities, went unchecked by the platform. All these messages were cloaked in twisted religious interpretation of Islamic teachings. Similarly, 0n May 28, one of TTP’s prominent mouthpiece X account, @war_observer1, announced a campaign to glorify Noor Wali Mehsud. The tweet openly called for support and celebration of a man who leads a group responsible for innumerable acts of terror and violence in the region.
This is not an isolated case. Several other accounts like @VotNews0 are actively reporting and even celebrating TTP attacks in real time. These timelines serve not just as newsfeeds but as curated propaganda channels aimed at recruitment and ideological reinforcement. The consistency and sophistication of these efforts reflect a strategic approach by TTP and similar groups to dominate the narrative space, particularly in Pakistan and neighbouring regions.
The TTP’s increasing digital signature is illustrative of a broader and alarming trend. TTP and several other international terrorist organizations (ITOs), with operational safe havens in Afghanistan, are leveraging social media not only to incite local violence but also to extend their ideological influence globally. These groups have learned to navigate the rules of engagement on platforms like X, exploiting their content moderation loopholes and free speech protections to disseminate hate and violence.
Pakistan, as a frontline state battling terrorism, is playing a critical role in containing the TTP threat. Yet the growing digital footprint of such groups threatens to undermine ground-level gains made against militancy. While Pakistani security forces continue their counterterrorism operations, the unchecked online presence of terrorist entities creates parallel battlefronts in the information space, ones that cannot be tackled solely through traditional military or intelligence methods.
It is high time that social media platforms, especially X, recognize the scale and seriousness of the problem. The core purpose of these platforms, community building, information sharing, and social networking, is fundamentally incompatible with the activities of terrorist groups that glorify bloodshed and spread divisive ideologies. X must institute stricter content moderation policies, improve AI-based detection of extremist content, and collaborate with counterterrorism authorities to swiftly take down such propaganda accounts. A platform that allows sanctioned terrorists to publish content freely is not only complicit in narrative warfare but also endangers lives by enabling recruitment and coordination.
Moreover, the international community must push for stronger accountability mechanisms for social media companies. Just as financial institutions are regulated to prevent money laundering and terror financing, digital platforms must be held to standards that prevent them from becoming megaphones for extremist agendas.
Terrorism is no longer confined to remote mountains or war-torn cities, it thrives in algorithms and hashtags. The case of TTP’s growing presence on X should serve as a wake-up call. If left unchecked, platforms like X may unwittingly become digital sanctuaries for some of the world’s most dangerous ideologies.
Pakistan’s frontline battle against terrorism deserves not just diplomatic and political support but also a robust digital alliance. Social media companies must join this fight, not through rhetoric but through meaningful action, to ensure their platforms remain spaces for social good, not sanctuaries for terror.