MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Indian government has reportedly blocked the social media account of Turkey’s state-run broadcaster within the country, according to various Indian media outlets.
The development comes shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly expressed support for Pakistan amid rising tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad. In response, there have been growing calls across India to boycott Turkish products.
Additionally, reports indicate that Turkey is seeing a decline in interest among Indian tourists, with the country increasingly being overlooked as a travel destination.
Indian media also claim that the social media accounts of two Chinese state-run media organisations have likewise been blocked within India, signalling a broader clampdown on foreign media platforms by Indian authorities.
The blocked accounts include two Chinese outlets, the Global Times and Xinhua News Agency, as well as Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT World. Both Xinhua and Global Times are widely regarded as official or semi-official voices of the Chinese state, while TRT World represents the Turkish government’s international media presence.
As for Global Times, the action follows strong criticism from the Indian Embassy in China, where the outlet was criticised for spreading unverified and misleading content related to the conflict.
“Dear Global Times News, we would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation,” the embassy said in a post on X.
Indian authorities have also accused Xinhua News of promoting false narratives originating from Pakistan, further justifying the decision to restrict access to the account.
These bans appear to be part of a broader effort by India to tighten its digital borders and counter what it claims are foreign disinformation campaigns during a period of regional instability.
Previously, the Indian Army had dismissed reports of Pakistani drone intrusions as false, directly contradicting claims widely circulated by Indian media outlets, including journalist Barkha Dutt. In an official statement, the Army clarified that the border situation remained calm and under full control.
Pakistani security officials had also rejected the accusations, calling them baseless and misleading. They stated that no Pakistani drone had crossed into Indian territory and instead accused Indian surveillance drones of violating the ceasefire along both the Line of Control and the Working Boundary.
The false reports had raised concerns about the reliability of Indian media during heightened tensions, especially as both countries had just begun ceasefire talks following a brief but intense military exchange. The narrative being pushed in some Indian outlets appeared to undermine those efforts.
At the same time, the Indian government’s decision to block foreign state-run media accounts, including Turkey’s TRT World and China’s Global Times and Xinhua, can be seen as a sign of growing digital censorship.
While the official justification cited the need to counter propaganda, some might argue that silencing foreign media while allowing unverified domestic reporting to thrive reflects a troubling double standard.
