Many popular videos on social media are fakes. The Taliban never shows the face of the "Supreme Leader" Hibatullah Akhundzada. Any video claiming to show him (except one grainy audio lecture from 2016) is a deepfake or an actor.

During their first reign, the Taliban banned photography and television as haram (forbidden). However, they were prolific producers of propaganda for internal distribution. These were low-resolution VHS tapes showing training camps, executions in Kabul’s stadium, and stern sermons by Mullah Omar. The aesthetic was raw, unpolished, and deliberately brutal—designed to intimidate rivals like the Northern Alliance.

If you are a journalist, historian, or OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) analyst, finding the real Taliban filmography requires specific search strings (in Pashto and Dari).

A rare long-form (45 min) narrative production. It depicts a "repentant" Afghan policeman who joins the Taliban, then stages a fake interview with a dying US contractor. The production quality (green screens, multiple camera angles) was unprecedented for a non-state group.