In this photo taken, Nov. 2, 2010, a veteran member of the Taliban speaks to The Associated Press in Afghanistan, Nov 2, 2010.

In this photo taken, Nov. 2, 2010, a veteran member of the Taliban speaks to The Associated Press in Afghanistan, Nov 2, 2010. Rodrigo Abd/AP

Science & Tech

Taliban Spokesman Gives Away His Hiding Spot on Twitter

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid made a series of tweets last week which accidentally geolocated him to Sindh, Pakistan. By Adam Epstein

Adam Epstein ,
Quartz

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By Adam Epstein

One prominent member of the Taliban might want to consider finding a new place of refuge.

Zabiullah Mujahid , a longtime spokesman for the Afghan group, made a series of tweets last week which accidentally geolocated him to Sindh, Pakistan.

Mujahid quickly denied that he was in Pakistan and said the geolocation was part of an “enemy plot.”

The Taliban is active on social media—it used to tweet regularly under the handle @alemarahweb, though that account doesn’t exist anymore. Mujahid has nearly 6,000 followers.

(Related: How the Pentagon Can Track the Taliban 5 )

Social media has a history of outing the location of people who’d probably prefer to remain hidden. This summer, in a shrewd act of investigative Instagram reporting, BuzzFeed discovered that a Russian soldier was operating inside Ukraine .

“Mujahid” might actually be a combination of several different people. Here’s one of them, with his back turned to the camera, speaking to CNN in 2009:

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