A Shitposting YouTuber Captured by the Taliban Was Just Freed

The Taliban released four British nationals from captivity in Afghanistan, including edgelord shitposter “Lord” Miles Routledge. Routledge is infamous as a self-proclaimed “war tourist” who first gained notoriety when he barely escaped Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal in 2021.

The BBC broke the story of Routledge’s release on October 10 and the U.K.’s home office confirmed it. Routledge was released alongside two unnamed British citizens and UN aid worker Kevin Cornwell, a 54-year-old man with health problems. “Mr Cornwell and the three other British Nationals which includes Miles Routledge have been released and have left Afghanistan,” Scott Richards, the co-founder of The Presidium Network—a nonprofit that supported some of the captured people—said on Twitter. “They are coming home! Thank you to everyone for their support of these men during this difficult period. We are all relieved.”

Lord Miles first went to Afghanistan in 2021 on what he claimed was the final tourist visa issued for the country before the Taliban reclaimed it. He filmed a few YouTube videos while he was there, fled, and then turned his experience into a meme-filled book published by Antelope Hill, a company that also publishes white supremacist literature.

Routledge returned to Afghanistan in 2023 and published videos on YouTube of him supposedly buying weapons in Kabul and hanging out with the Taliban. On January 11, officers of Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence arrested Routledge and Cornwell.

After Lord Miles went into an Afghan prison, speculation about his condition spread on the internet. His Twitter account, @real_lord_miles, fueled the speculation with increasingly bizarre claims about Routledge’s life behind bars, including that he lives in “luxury.” The account claimed that the Taliban loved Miles, thought he was “goofy” and enjoyed his book.

“The Taliban are happy with international business in their country so Miles has had regular picnics and dinners with higher ups discussing business plans and the gold mine. As he got arrested with $1.3k in his pocket, he basically lives in luxury,” the account said on September 27. “ordering takeaway, can buy movies at the market to put on his laptop, has all his business docs, has got the new tf2 update and is pulling off some stunts. At first, like all of you, I was worried he was struggling in some bad place but then he described how the Taliban like the Titanic movie and Rambo 3.”

“If he wants eggs, his servants buy him eggs,” the account continued. “If he doesn’t like a dish, he gets pizza. When we called him he said ‘lovely holiday.’” The account said Miles planned to write another book and open a gold mine in Afghanistan.

According to The Presidium Network, Cornwell didn’t fare as well as Routledge. “[Cornwell remains seriously ill and he has been critically ill, and his condition has not improved,” it said on Twitter, noting that another British man in custody was also seriously sick. “It is extremely likely both men will die in custody, the conditions they are kept in are nothing short of horrific and their current health and the high likelihood of death should be treated with concern by the international community.”

According to @real_lord_miles, Routledge was aware of Cornwell’s plight. “They met a few times in a hotel Miles frequented in Kabul,” the account said. “We understand Kevin's kidney problems and Miles volunteers to give him a transplant whilst in Afghanistan if he is a match.”

According to Richards, both Cornwell and Routledge are out of Afghanistan and on their way home to the U.K.