Afghanistan: Social Media in Afghanistan Takes On Life of Its Own --- WASHINGTON — Afghans have long been resistant to central authority — as the United States has found to its frustration — with Afghanistan divided along tribal, cultural, religious and linguistic lines. Its mountains and valleys have stood in the way of communications breakthroughs that have unified other societies. -- But a social media network initially financed by the United States is finding a way around those barriers. It is connecting millions of Afghans equipped with cellphones and other mobile devices, allowing an exchange of ideas that has never been possible in Afghanistan outside Kabul, the capital. -- Similar American-financed programs elsewhere have failed, most spectacularly in Cuba, but Afghanistan is considered one of the great success stories from the United States’ effort to counter extremists’ violent ideology with social media. In Afghanistan, the network has achieved far more, allowing Afghans access to information as never before, bolstering education efforts and encouraging political debate, Obama administration officials say. -- Called Paywast, or “to connect” in Dari, a Persian language spoken by half the population, the network currently has 1.6 million users and has continued operations, although the United States ended its backing for the project in 2011. -- The Afghan company that runs the network, also called Paywast, said it began charging a small fee when American financing ended. American-backed programs in other countries have faltered after the money ran out. -- The projects were encouraged by former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who saw social media as an important tool for diplomacy after observing how Facebook and YouTube were used to organize protests in Egypt and Tunisia during popular uprisings in 2010. -- But in Cuba, The Associated Press recently reported, the program was a covert effort set up to encourage dissent on the island in hopes of bringing about a “Cuban Spring” similar to the Middle East uprisings. Administration officials acknowledged that they wanted to be discreet in carrying out the program, but they denied that it was covert and said it was set up to provide Cubans with a platform to share ideas and information. -- The United States spends millions of dollars a year on social media programs as part of efforts to promote democracy and better governance. Some programs operate openly, but others have not been publicly disclosed. -- Eileen O’Conner, deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia and the senior director of communications and public diplomacy in the office of the Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said Paywast was one of several media-related programs financed by the United States in Afghanistan. -- Paywast was an effort to make up for the lack of Internet access in Afghanistan. “It’s a place where different ethnic groups historically didn’t talk to other ethnic groups and where leaders in the country had little capacity to reach the population,” she said. -- Paywast does not openly acknowledge that it was financed by the United States, but Ms. O’Connor said that fact was never hidden from the Afghan government or its citizens. The State Department did not disclose how much the service cost, but a similar program in Pakistan cost about $1 million. -- Jes Kaliebe Petersen, co-founder of the company that created the network, said that despite the United States backing, the program never had a specific political objective. “We have run the social network autonomously, and there is no relation between the Cuban program and our activities,” Mr. Petersen said. -- In Kabul, a number of young people said they had stopped using Paywast after the company started charging for the service. Many said they now perceive it as more of a tool for private companies and government ministries to send messages to their employees. -- Waheed Arash, 26, said he used Paywast to message women, and he and his friends set up a group to share jokes, news and updates about their personal lives. -- “But almost everyone stopped using it when they were surprised by the company charging us lots of money,” Mr. Arash said. “We no longer have the group.”