Lord Miles Death Rumor / Release From Afghanistan Detention

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Overview

Lord Miles Death Rumor and Release From Afghanistan Detention refers to online discourse and speculation that British YouTuber Lord Miles (Miles Routledge), known for collaborating with members of the Taliban during its 2021 Offensive in Afghanistan, had been executed by the Taliban in a beheading execution video. The rumor was started due to the YouTuber's disappearance in early 2023. In September and October 2023, unknown friends of Routledge accessed his Twitter / X account and stated that he'd been arrested in Afghanistan. In turn, humorous rumors and speculation fully manifested. All the while, the people using Routledge's Twitter account continued to purport that he was alive and thriving in prison. In October 2023, Routledge was released from a prison in Afghanistan, quelling the rumors that he was dead.

Background

On February 17th, 2023, Lord Miles shared a final post to X^[1] with his account going dormant for months after. Around the same time, he uploaded a YouTube^[2] video that coincided with his disappearance. Speculation about his disappearance from social media ensued in his Discord server (example from X^[3] shown below, top) and the parody X^[4] account, Taliban Public Relations Department, posted about "losing contact" with Lord Miles (shown below, bottom).

On July 17th, 2023, Lord Miles' X account uploaded a post^[5] that was its first in months, writing, "🧵 This is a friend of Lord Miles to give an update. 4 months in Taliban custody. 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." The post received roughly 24,300 likes in three months (shown below, left).

In the subsequent thread, the friend stated that Lord Miles was doing well in custody, saying, among many things, "He's sunbathing, playing TF2, writing his 2nd book, reading T.E Lawrence, exercising, has chocolates and cake etc."

With the post, speculation about Lord Miles' death started to fully manifest, evident in a quote shared by X^[6] user @HOSTAGEKILLER on July 17th, saying, "He's so dead," gaining roughly 5,800 likes in three months (shown below, right).

In July 2023, other viral posts were shared on X^[7] about Lord Miles possibly being dead, however, others, such as X^[8] user @CountDankulaTV on July 23rd, 2023, claimed, "I received further confirmation from the person running this account that this is legit and Miles is still alive," gaining roughly 8,300 likes in three months (shown below, left).

Months later, on September 27th, the person running Lord Miles' account posted to X^[8] another thread with updates about his "prison," gaining roughly 3,400 likes in eight days (shown below, right).

Similar to the July 2023 thread on X,^[5] the September 2023 thread also inspired skepticism and memes in the week that followed its upload. For instance, the X^[9] account posted a screenshot of a "Lord Miles Shrine" on Google Maps that was made by a troll, gaining over 900 likes in three days (shown below, left).

On October 4th, iFunnier ^[10] @Colaws posted a GIF Caption that joked about a supposed execution video, receiving over 350 smiles in one day (shown below, right).

As speculation ensued about Lord Miles' death, influencers and fellow YouTubers continued to purport that he was still alive, hinting that the admin of Routledge's X account had given them solid proof that they couldn't reveal.

For instance, on October 5th, 2023, YouTuber Justin Whang tweeted,^[11] "I know this is the same shit everyone says and nobody believes but Miles is alive and I can’t say how I know," gaining over 900 likes in less than a day (shown below).

Developments

Lord Miles Freed In October 2023

On October 10th, 2023, BBC^[12] published an article about "Four British men freed after Afghanistan detention" including among them Miles Routledge, aka Lord Miles. BBC included a photo of Routledge seemingly taken after his release (shown below).

Online Reaction

@BBCWorld posted to X^[13] about its article, gaining attention due to the Lord Miles-related news, receiving roughly 2,600 likes in less than a day. Many on the site started to quote retweet BBC, such as X^[14] user @GranTorinoDSA on October 10th, 2023, who used Tom Brady to portray Lord Miles entering Gaza in reference to the then-recent Israel-Hamas Conflict, receiving roughly 2,900 likes in five hours (shown below, left).

Also on October 10th, X^[15] user @tolstoybb posted a similar meme about Gaza and Lord Miles, gaining roughly 3,000 likes in less than a day (shown below, right).

During the same timeframe, influencers who originally purported that Lord Miles was alive posted about being right, such as YouTuber Justin Whang on X^[16] who wrote, "Never doubt me again," on October 10th, 2023, gaining over 1,000 likes in less than a day (shown below).