As Afghanistan disappears from global headlines, media neglect enables extremist resurgence, regional instability, and a deepening humanitarian crisis.

In late September 2025, Afghanistan plunged into digital darkness as nationwide internet blackout severed the country from the world.

From social media platforms to international flight coordination, virtually every aspect of modern connectivity was disrupted, leaving the population isolated. Yet this crisis barely registered in Western headlines, eclipsed by other global events.

Four years after the fall of Kabul, Afghanistan has largely disappeared from mainstream media coverage, even as extremist threats emanating from its territory continue to escalate and pose risks that could extend far beyond the region. This neglect is not merely an editorial oversight; it constitutes a dangerous abdication of journalistic responsibility that allows grave security and humanitarian threats to fester unchecked.

Within Afghanistan, the media environment is markedly more dire. In its 2025 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranks the country 175 out of 180 – its lowest position ever – citing the systematic closure of independent outlets, widespread arrests of journalists, routine torture, and enforced self-censorship.

A United Nations report published in November 2024 documented how Taliban-appointed “minders” are now embedded in newsrooms, directly dictating editorial content and vetoing stories deemed unfavourable to the regime. Female journalists, who once constituted a significant proportion of the profession, have been entirely excluded from........

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