Date: 01/07/1404
Local sources in Herat Province report that the Taliban have ordered all video-based media outlets—including television stations and online platforms such as YouTube—to cease broadcasting visual content and operate in audio-only format. Sources confirmed to Hasht-e Subh that the directive requires the complete suspension of live images.

This order follows the Taliban’s broader ban on the publication of live images in media, which the Afghanistan Journalists Center reports has been officially enforced in more than 20 provinces since August 2024. As a result of these restrictions, dozens of television stations across the country have either shut down entirely or converted their operations into radio-based broadcasts.

The Taliban’s order requiring all video media in Herat to operate in audio-only format represents a further escalation in the systematic dismantling of visual media in Afghanistan. By prohibiting the broadcast of images across both traditional television and digital platforms, the Taliban effectively eliminate video journalism, visual documentation, and public visibility from the media space. This measure erodes the ability of journalists to report on events, hold authorities accountable, and provide the public with independent information. The expansion of this policy across more than 20 provinces reflects a coordinated national strategy of media censorship, transforming Afghanistan’s media landscape into one dominated by tightly controlled, non-visual communication.