NEW DELHI: In a series of swift action against certain media outlets peddling propaganda and misinformation against India, the X account of Turkish news broadcaster, TRT World has been withheld in India, as observed on Wednesday. TRT World has been known for giving space to anti-India sentiment.
Upon opening the account of TRT World, the following message is displayed — “Account Withheld”. “@trtworldhas been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand”.
https://x.com/trtworld
This follows after the call given in recent times for a boycott on Turkish products and services after Turkish origin military equipments such as Asisguard Songar model drones were found to have been deployed against India by Pakistan during its attack on civilian and military infrastructure of India in the wake of Operation Sindoor launched by India, targeting nine key terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), avenging the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
#India blocks the X accounts of Global Times, Xinhua News Agency and TRT World.
According to the sources, the action has been taken against them for allegedly disseminating false Pakistani propaganda in the country. #OperationSindoor #IndianArmedForces pic.twitter.com/tsHWt718vs
— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) May 14, 2025
Following Turkey’s open support for Pakistan amid recent tensions between India and its neighbour, a widespread “Ban Turkey” movement has emerged in many places across the country. The ban on the Turkish broadcaster’s X account follows suit after the account of the Chinese state-run propaganda mouthpiece, Global Times, was also withheld in India.
On May 8, social media platform X had received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees, a statement by the Global Government Affairs said.
The orders include demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organisations and prominent X users.
On May 7, India’s Embassy in China had rebuked the Chinese media outlet Global Times for reporting that Pakistan’s military shot down an Indian fighter jet and advised verifying facts and sources before publishing such reports. “Dear @globaltimesnews, we would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation,” the Embassy of India in Beijing, China, said on X.
India has categorically rejected Pakistan’s malicious misinformation campaign, which falsely claimed the destruction of critical Indian military infrastructure. During his visit to the Adampur Airbase, PM Modi had said, “”Despite Pakistan’s many efforts, our airbases, or our other defence infrastructure, have not been harmed. And the credit for this goes to all of you, and I am proud of all of you, every soldier deployed on the border, every person associated with this operation deserves credit for this”.
Previously, India had announced a ban on 16 Pakistani YouTube channels for spreading provocative and communally sensitive content and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies in the backdrop of the tragic Pahalgam terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir.
The action followed the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).Following heightened tensions between India and Pakistan over the deadly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, the accounts of Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and former Prime Minister Imran Khan, founder of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), have been suspended in India. (ANI)
