Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, May 14: India has blocked access to several X (formerly Twitter) accounts linked to Chinese and Turkish state media, citing the dissemination of false information and propaganda aimed at undermining national interests. The crackdown includes the official accounts of TRT World (Turkey), and Chinese state-run outlets Global Times and Xinhua.
The action comes on the heels of a sharp public response from the Indian Embassy in Beijing, which criticized Global Times for publishing inaccurate coverage of an ongoing military operation. In a pointed message on X, the Embassy advised the outlet to “verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation.”
In a follow-up post, the Embassy attributed the spread of baseless claims to social media accounts supportive of Pakistan, noting a pattern of misinformation targeting the Indian armed forces, particularly surrounding the military campaign dubbed Operation Sindoor.
“Multiple pro-Pakistan handles are actively spreading unfounded narratives,” the Embassy said. “When media outlets echo such unverified information, it constitutes a serious breach of journalistic integrity.”
Following the legal order, users in India attempting to view the Global Times X account are now met with the message: “Account Withheld. @globaltimesnews has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand.”
India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) Fact Check Unit has also stepped up efforts to counter online misinformation, identifying several images and videos in circulation as doctored or lifted from unrelated past events.
Separately, India issued a firm rebuttal to China’s latest assertion of territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh. Responding to Beijing’s move to rename locations within the Indian state, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated:
“China’s attempts to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh are futile and absurd. Arunachal Pradesh is, was, and will always remain an integral part of India. No amount of creative cartography can change that.”
In 2024, China unveiled a list of 30 newly renamed sites within Arunachal Pradesh — a move India swiftly and categorically rejected as another attempt to assert illegitimate territorial claims.