guides
Who Is Lord Miles And Why Do People Think That The Taliban Executed Him?
The internet is buzzing with rumors that young British student Miles Routledge might have been executed by the Taliban, but not everyone is sympathetic. Routledge, or Lord Miles, as he is known by his fans, traveled to Afghanistan during the Taliban's 2021 offensive and actively tried to make friends with the terrorist group.
But after several months of posting selfies and photos with the Taliban, Lord Miles stopped his regular updates. Soon after that, a "friend" began to operate Miles's Twitter account. As suspicions about Miles's well-being continued to grow in 2023, here's a recap of the events that fueled rumors of his death.
Who Is Lord Miles And What Was His Claim To Fame?
In August 2021, an anonymous 4chan user started an "Ask Me Anything" thread on 4chan, claiming to be in Afghanistan and posting a photo of himself wearing an Afghani tunic. In the thread, the user says that his name is Miles Arther Le-Vesconte Routledge and that he was a student at Loughborough University.
Miles says that he decided to make the trip to Afghanistan after Googling to 10 most dangerous countries in the world and deciding to visit them all. Later in the thread, Miles wrote that he had all his bank cards changed to say "Lord Miles" as an attempt to provide him more negotiating power in the event that he gets captured by the Taliban. Nonetheless, Miles seemed relatively assured of his personal safety.
Later 4chan posts showed Lord Miles giving updates on his movements in Kabul, at one point saying that he was living in a safe house located in the center of Kabul, within a five-minute walking distance of the U.K. embassy.
How Did The Lord Miles Death Rumor Start?
Starting sometime in February 2023, Lord Miles's X account went dormant for several months, sparking discussions about his disappearance not just in a Discord dedicated to him, but also in the replies of a post made by the gimmick account Taliban Public Relations Department.
After months of radio silence, Lord Miles's X account displayed a new post in July 2023. Five months after his disappearance, someone claiming to be "a friend" of his posted saying that it had been 4 months since Miles was in Taliban custody, adding that "He's treated very well, has several servants, loads of movies on his laptop, goes on picnics and has tea with the Taliban cabinet gov. He still loves Afghanistan."
Various parts of the post set off alarm bells in the minds of Lord Miles's followers, most notably the fact that the photo meant to convey Lord Miles's safety in the month of July showed him and the Taliban fighters dressed in warm winter clothing. In the words of X user @HOSTAGEKILLER: "He's so dead."
What Fueled Rumors Of Lord Miles's Death?
Following the initial posts issued from Lord Miles's account that made people wonder about the British influencer's well-being, the "friend" managing Lord Miles's X profile continued to post in a manner that was deemed suspicious by Miles's fans.
The repeated reassurance about Miles's safety stood in contrast with the "friend's" refusal to provide any material proof of Miles's well-being. Furthermore, the account's casual language and decision to acknowledge a troll shrine dedicated to Miles made people distrust the legitimacy of the person running it.
The rumors culminated in people sharing memes about who could possibly be the "friend" running Miles's account, with internet users sharing dark jokes about his possible execution.
For the full history of the Lord Miles Death Rumors, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.