Personally, I think social media does more harm than good. I got rid of Facebook years ago, I was tired of seeing people argue over politics. Instagram is fun because it’s mostly pictures. Twitter has some cool uses, but a lot of it is just people blasting hot takes at each other. Bu there was one time Twitter absolutely blew my mind.
US troops withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, and the government was in shambles as the Taliban pushed in to capture the cities. Thousands of diplomats and government workers from countries all over the world tried to flee from the embassies and consulates. After the airports in Kabul were captured by the Taliban, it was impossible for people to get back home.
Here is where it gets wild: a group of diplomats from Spain were stuck in the capitol city. The Spanish government tried their hardest to contact the Taliban and negotiate with them, they just wanted to bring their people home. But during the chaos, Taliban leaders were focused on kicking out the army and laying down the law. No one answered the Spanish government.
Here is where Twitter comes in to save the day! Some regular guy in Spain heard about the diplomats who were trapped in Afghanistan. He found a Pashto speaker in Spain to translate, and decided to tweet at a Taliban leader on Twitter. I mean, why not?
Well, he got an answer back. The leader agreed to let the Spanish diplomats fly home. Thankfully they made it home safely, but not everyone was so lucky. There are millions of Afghan people who are still suffering under the strict rule of the Taliban today.
But, this story gives me hope. It proves that just one person with a creative idea can help others all across the world.