
Co-hosts of the Big Small Talk podcast, Hannah Ferguson and Sarah-Jane Adams, have released a statement responding to the feedback they copped for their segment on Chloe Baradinsky‘s trip to Afghanistan.
On August 26, Big Small Talk released a podcast episode discussing the “tourist boom” of Afghanistan — which is controlled by a dictatorship with restrictive laws surrounding women’s rights — and questioned the ethics of influencers promoting tourism in the country, expressing concerns that the content could serve as reputation rehab for the Taliban.

While Ferguson and Adams referenced Baradinsky’s trip, they also named other influencers who’ve gone to Afghanistan and published content surrounding their time in the country.
Following some scathing feedback on the segment, and a response from Baradinsky herself, who called out the podcast for not DMing her, Ferguson and Adams have released a statement on Instagram addressing the feedback.
It’s also worth noting that the IG statement is similar to the response they made in their recent podcast episode.
“In yesterday’s episode, we started by responding to the feedback we received following our ‘Influencers in Afghanistan’ last week,” the statement began.
“For context, creator Chloe Barry-Hang published a video on TikTok on Friday responding to the segment. The video has received tens of thousands of likes and a high volume of comments about Big Small Talk.
“We want to start by saying some of Chloe’s points are important for us to take on, and that we appreciate many of the messages we have received from listeners. There have been some important critiques that will shape how we approach these stories in the future.”

Further in the statement, Ferguson and Adams addressed the criticisms from listeners who compared their recent New York trip to Baradinsky’s Afghanistan tour, agreeing that they wouldn’t be returning to the US “while a fascist is in power”. However, they highlighted that their work trip “is still distinct from promoting travel to a country where women cannot be seen or heard in public”.
They also responded to the backlash of using the word “influencer” when referring to Chloe, acknowledging they understand the impact of the word on female creators and entrepreneurs.
While the podcasters are aware of the concerns raised by Baradinsky, they claim that some of the things she’s said in her response video are a “distortion” and have impacted people who’ve never listened to Big Small Talk before.
“We apologised to Chloe immediately after seeing her video posted on TikTok on Friday, because we did not intend to cause her harm,” they continued.
They went on to point out that it’s “not bullying and is not cruel, nasty, ‘anti-women’, or ‘mean girl’ to critique someone’s choice to visit and promote Afghanistan”. But that it’s “an important discussion about influence and responsibility”.
“Last week’s segment discussed, broadly, the topic of many influencers around the world who have been paid to travel to Afghanistan,” the pair penned.
“We received a lot of messages from listeners who had mentioned Chloe’s trip, which has accumulated millions of views on TikTok. As we said in the segment, we enjoy Chloe’s content and find her to be more transparent than others.”

The Big Small Talk hosts went on to deny that they said Baradinsky’s trip was funded by the Taliban. However, it was “valid” for them to question if it was paid for, despite Australian law requiring content creators to disclose partnerships.
“At no point did we suggest that Chloe’s trip was paid for by the Taliban. We were referring to the external travel companies currently gifting creators and media members experiences in the Middle East,” they wrote.
“We know this happens because we have been offered trips or discounts and declined them. It is entirely valid to raise discussions in public forums as to whether content creators are receiving gifts when pushing a particular product or experience on large followings.
“It is Australian law to declare this, so we should have assumed Chloe was not supported on this trip. The question, however, is still valid.”

Ferguson and Adams went on to add that Big Small Talk “is analytical, not investigative journalism” and that they “discuss and commentate on questions that form part of the zeitgeist in any given week”.
“We commentate and provide information on what has already been put into the public forum,” they continued.
“We spoke to the videos and the content of what Chloe had already published, and like many other outlets, including the ABC, these are questions that can be raised. It is great that Chloe has clarified her trip wasn’t supported, but this wasn’t the main focus of the segment and doesn’t diminish the validity of our statement”.
The pair went on to mention last Monday’s episode of ABC Radio’s National Hour, which touched on Baradinsky’s Afghanistan content. The episode also featured an interview with Afghan women’s rights activist, Pashtana Durrani, who said:
“Afghanistan is a beautiful country, and I wish the world could see it beforehand, and I wish all Afghans and exiles could go back home, but this is legitimate propaganda that is being funded by the Taliban to soften their image in the world, and sort of show foreigners that the country is safe and much more nicer and can host other foreigners but at the same time you need to call out the hypocrisy of all these people who pay taxes to fight against terrorism but are now going to Afghanistan and furthering Taliban propaganda”.

They then went on to address the feedback, raised by Baradinsky, where she says that people within Afghanistan are not their government’s. While they agree with this statement, they urged folks to listen to Durrani’s full interview with ABC Radio’s National Hour, as she raises many points regarding tourism.
“Pashtana Durrani makes many powerful points. She argues that fuelling the economy with tourism removes pressure from the Taliban to change their draconian laws, which would then allow them to receive international aid,” the statement continued.
“Durrani also notes the protection that foreign passports give tourists. While still dangerous, travellers are not subjected to the same terror as Afghan women, which distorts reality. This is a story, as Durrani says, that Afghan women should be telling.”
Furthermore, Ferguson and Adams went on to highlight the Taliban’s recent collaboration with tourism companies and the current changes to visa processes into the country.

“Chloe also argued that the Taliban is not tech savvy or financially stable enough for this debate. The Taliban have spoken about their work with tourism companies and changes to make visa processes easier,” the statement continued.
“This year, The Washington Post reported that the Taliban are granting broadcasting licenses to content creators, effectively giving them the same footing as TV networks.
“The terms are clear: share your videos of the scenery of the country, and your license will be revoked if you criticise them. This is important context when considering the protections afforded to tourists, especially content creators.”
The pair went on to reference an article published by the ABC, titled Travel Influencers Say They Are Helping The People of Afghanistan. Not Everybody Is So Sure, which featured an interview with Nasima Kakae, who previously worked in Afghanistan’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which was abolished by the Taliban four years ago.
In the interview, Kakae, who now runs a travel company in Melbourne, said:
“The people who are travelling to Afghanistan — if they are YouTubers, if they are tourists — they are in coordination of the Taliban, absolutely… They go to the beautiful hotels, they are escorted by the Taliban…”
Ferguson and Adams went on to say that while they believe Baradinsky’s “intentions are good” and that she “openly shared her experience”, they have concerns with viewers who are “not familiar with her content”.

Lastly, the pair went on to “reiterate” how Big Small Talk works, reminding viewers that the podcast follows a formula where one co-host is the “expert” who explains the topic and the other takes it all in, describing the format as “a purposeful stylistic choice for our podcast so that we can offer a natural flow of discussion to our listeners”.
They then slammed claims they were “anti-women or believing young women are ‘stupid'”, which stemmed from their August 26 episode.

“We want to directly address this point, because when we say ‘young women will be influenced by these videos’ we don’t mean because young women are susceptible, or vulnerable,” they note.
“We are young women who host a politics and pop culture podcast. The entire purpose of our show is believing women of all ages have strong, sophisticated opinions on these topics that should be centred.
“What we are saying is that we know the responsibility that is involved in having a platform like ours, and like Chloe’s. We understand that our words, our views and our content has an impact. How you use your platform and what you choose to promote to your audience matters. We have built trust, connection and community. This isn’t undermining young women, it’s the opposite. It is taking that trust incredibly seriously.
“We don’t expect everyone to agree with us, we aren’t asking for that — it’s not the purpose of our show. Our segment was about the responsibility of influential platforms. Chloe’s response video contained degrading comments about us and our podcast. We have worked incredibly hard over the last two years building a body of work that we are proud of. The complete undermining of our portfolio and the claim that we shouldn’t be allowed to have podcasting equipment was completely uncalled for. We were asking fair and valid questions of a creator with a massive impact.
“We believe Chloe is well-intentioned, but these are important discussions for women to be having in 2025. We stand by our segment.”

So far, the Big Small Talk‘s response to the feedback has been met with a warm reception, with many netizens praising the duo on providing a “great response”.
At the time of writing, Baradinsky hasn’t shared a video responding to Big Small Talk‘s IG post. However, she did reply to another TikToker on her recent video, sharing that she loved their “accountability” and “their apology”.

Baradinsky has yet to respond to Rosie Waterland‘s now-deleted IG statement regarding the TikToker’s response to her podcast episode on Just The Gist.
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