NEW DELHI, May 14: India has blocked the X (formerly Twitter) accounts of Chinese state-run media outlets Global Times and Xinhua News Agency for allegedly promoting false narratives favouring Pakistan amid heightened Indo-Pak tensions.
The action was taken on Wednesday by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), citing national security and public order concerns. Authorities accused the Chinese Communist Party-linked accounts of amplifying misleading information and provocative content, particularly following India’s recent cross-border military action under Operation Sindoor.
One of the most contentious claims involved a fabricated report that a Rafale fighter jet had been shot down near Bahawalpur, Pakistan. Indian officials quickly dismissed the story as fake, tracing the visuals used in the viral post to an unrelated 2021 MiG-21 crash in Punjab’s Moga district.
In a rare public rebuttal, the Indian Embassy in China responded directly to Global Times on X, stating: “Dear Global Timesnews, we would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation.”
The embassy followed up with another post: “Several pro-Pakistan handles are spreading baseless claims in the context of #OperationSindoor, attempting to mislead the public. When media outlets share such information without verifying sources, it reflects a serious lapse in responsibility and journalistic ethics.”
India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) also weighed in through its Fact Check unit, warning social media users to be cautious of old and unrelated images being circulated in the current context by pro-Pakistan accounts.
Meanwhile, on the diplomatic front, tensions flared further as India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected China’s renewed attempt to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh, calling the move “futile and baseless” and reaffirming India’s sovereignty over the region.
The spike in disinformation follows India’s precision airstrikes under Operation Sindoor, which targeted terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). These strikes came in direct response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, which killed 26 civilians.
