Afghan Tolo News reporter beaten -- not killed -- by Taliban

"TOLO news reporter killed by the Taliban in Kabul: TOLO News," reads a Facebook post from August 26.

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Screenshot of the false claim shared on Facebook, taken on August 26, 2021

TOLOnews is an Afghan TV channel that made headlines after a female journalist said she was barred from working for the network after the Taliban seized control of the country.

Female journalists have been targeted by the militants in a wave of assassinations in the months leading up to their takeover in August, which has sparked widespread concerns over human rights.

The misleading claim about Ziar Yaad was shared by various news sites in India including Mirror Now, LokMat, and NTV Telugu, as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

However, the claim is false.

Contacted by AFP, Yaad said that he was in fact alive.

Yaad told AFP the news of his death was false, adding: "our country is always a victim of violence. The life of a journalist here is full of problems and hardships. We have to be patient with everything."

He also said in a tweet that reports of his death were "false".

"I was beaten by the Taliban in Kabul's New City while reporting. Cameras, technical equipment and my personal mobile phone have also been hijacked. Some people have spread the news of my death which is false. The Taliban got out of an armored Land Cruiser and hit me at gunpoint," he wrote in the post on August 26.

The false reports appear to originate from an inaccurate translation of a tweet from Tolo News reporting on the attack.

A journalist in AFP's Tehran bureau said the Persian-language tweet reads, "A TOLOnews journalist beaten up by Taliban in Kabul". However, a Google Translation text underneath reads, "TOLOnews reporter killed by Taliban in Kabul".

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Screenshot of TOLOnews tweet with inaccurate English translation, taken on August 26, 2021

The tweet links to a Tolo News report on the journalists' assault.

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