In a continued crackdown on foreign media outlets accused of disseminating anti-India propaganda, the ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) account of Turkish state-run broadcaster TRT World has been withheld in India, as observed on Wednesday.
Visitors attempting to access @trtworld within Indian territory are met with a message that reads: “Account Withheld — @trtworld has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand.”
TRT World has often been criticised for airing content perceived as sympathetic to anti-India narratives, particularly in the context of recent India-Pakistan tensions. The move comes in the wake of Turkey’s vocal support for Pakistan during India’s Operation Sindoor, a military response launched on May 7 targeting nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack.
Following the operation, Pakistani forces retaliated, reportedly using Turkish-origin Asisguard Songar drones in their assault on Indian civilian and military targets — a move that triggered calls for a boycott of Turkish products and services across India.
The withholding of TRT World’s account mirrors a similar action taken against China’s state-run Global Times, whose account was also recently withheld in India due to the spread of alleged disinformation — including false claims about Indian military losses.
This broader media clampdown is linked to executive orders issued by the Indian government on May 8, directing social media platform X to block over 8,000 accounts in India. The directive warned of potential penalties, including hefty fines and imprisonment of local X employees, if the orders were not implemented. Many of the blocked accounts reportedly belong to foreign news outlets and prominent international users.
Earlier this month, India’s Embassy in China had directly rebuked Global Times for falsely reporting that Pakistan had shot down an Indian fighter jet, urging the outlet to verify facts before publishing.
Amid the fallout of the Pahalgam attack, India has intensified efforts to combat online misinformation and provocative content. The government has already banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels and restricted access to social media accounts of prominent Pakistani figures such as Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Imran Khan.
These actions, backed by recommendations from the Ministry of Home Affairs, are part of India’s evolving digital strategy to counter disinformation in times of national security crises.
