The Atlantic published an article on August 18th about Amu TV titled: “Inside the Virginia Newsroom Trying to Save Afghanistan From Tyranny.” The exiled Afghans of Amu TV are holding the Taliban to account—from 7,000 miles away.

Chalawsaf’s analysis of this article indicates that it contains numerous inaccuracies and misleading information.

 

• The Atlantic: “When the last American soldiers retreated, the industry collapsed.”

Fact-check: While the fall of Kabul marked a significant disruption, the Afghan media industry did not collapse. Local media outlets continue to operate within Afghanistan and remain a primary source of information for both local and exiled media, despite severe restrictions and censorship.

Exiled media, including Amu TV, often rely on local journalists who continue to report from within the country, as noted in a Chalawsaf article. Surveys show that local TV stations still lead in viewership, surpassing exiled networks.

 

• The Atlantic: “Amu’s operation depends on the scrappy ingenuity of its far-flung staff. After Kabul fell, the network’s journalists dispersed across the Middle East, Europe, North America, and elsewhere.”

 

Fact-check: Amu TV did not begin its operations immediately after the fall of Kabul; the network actually started its work in 2022, a year after the collapse of the Afghan government.

 

• The Atlantic: “Some 100 reporters in the country, mostly women in their 20s and 30s, risk their lives to expose the Taliban’s crimes and corruption, together with more than 50 exiled Afghan journalists.”

 

Fact-check: No media outlet in Afghanistan currently employs 100 reporters. Chalawsaf’s investigation found that Amu TV has attempted to hire local journalists at minimal wages, which has placed some of these journalists in danger. Such practices are not genuine journalism; they amount to exploitation.

 

• The Atlantic: “The Taliban incarcerated, beat, and tortured Amu staffers, in some cases for months. Amu’s leadership appealed to the United Nations, the U.S. embassy, and advocacy groups for help. After weeks of lobbying, Amu’s journalists were released.”

 

Fact-check: Our findings indicate that these staff members were actually under contract with The Institute of War and Peace Studies (IWPS), not Amu TV. Two staff spent over four months in The Taliban prison, other organizations lobbied for their release. At Chalawsaf, we spoke to the families of those involved and published an article on this matter.

 

 

• The Atlantic: “According to data its editors have gathered, about 20 million people access Amu’s digital platform each month.”

 

Fact-check: This figure appears highly exaggerated and should be independently verified before publication. Surveys conducted a few months ago by NYU and GeoPoll show that Amu’s viewership is negligible, and the network is not among the top five TV channels with the most viewers.