In India, most visitors attempting to access the website of news portal The Wire are met with a blank page and a notice that says, “The website has been blocked as per the order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the IT Act, 2000.”

“It is an attack on press freedom and on the right of every Indian to access information. It must be lifted immediately,” The Wire’s cofounder Siddharth Varadarajan posted on X. The Wire’s own statement called it a “clear violation of the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press” and said it would take “all necessary steps to challenge this arbitrary and inexplicable move”.

But users may encounter similar notices elsewhere. 

Yesterday, social media platform X announced that it had complied with  executive orders from the Indian government to “block over 8,000 accounts in India”. These included the X accounts of Maktoob Media, BBC Urdu, Free Press Kashmir, The Kashmiriyat and journalists Muzamil Jaleel and Anuradha Bhasin.

The news of the blocks on X were tweeted by the company’s Global Government Affairs handle, which also said it disagrees with the government’s decision since “it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech”. Noting that it didn’t receive “evidence or justification” for a number of the accounts, it encouraged users being blocked to “seek appropriate relief from the courts”. 

X’s own Global Government Affairs handle was then briefly withheld in India this morning.

Journalists blocked on X told Newslaundry they didn’t receive intimations from either X or the government about their accounts being withheld. 

Meanwhile, an official from the union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, which issues these orders to X, told Newslaundry that a user will face action if they “repeatedly violate” the government’s “media advisory”, and that this decision is taken “in national interest and to protect sovereignty”. 

The Ministry of Defence also tweeted today that media channels must “refrain from live coverage or real-time reporting of defence operations and movement of security forces”. 

Newslaundry contacted journalists facing these orders to piece together what had happened.

‘Friends told me my X account couldn’t be accessed’

Anuradha Bhasin, managing editor of Kashmir Times, told Newslaundry she learned about her X account being withheld through a friend. 

“We had reported on the 8,000 X accounts being blocked. I didn’t know I was one of them,” she said. “Then some of my friends told me that my X account couldn’t be accessed [in India].”

Bhasin accused the government of going after journalists doing their jobs instead of taking action against the “fake media industry”. 

“I am no major threat to anyone. It seems there has been a sweeping crackdown on people who are either talking about peace or trying to sift fact from fiction or trying to call out fake news,” she alleged. “There has been no action taken against the fake media industry. At a time of crisis when there is a greater need for facts or the sanctity of facts, they seemed to be cracking down on everyone. It’s shocking that The Wire website has been blocked.” 

Aslah Kayyalakkath, founding editor of Maktoob Media, claimed that his portal’s coverage of hate crimes against Kashmiri Muslims after the Pahalgam terror attack may have “irked” the government. 

“We have not reported anything from the ground on the so-called war. Our reports on this are based mostly on government statements,” he said. 

It should be noted that Maktoob Media’s Hindi X account is still accessible in India; the English one with around 43,5 00 followers has been withheld. The website issued a statement saying it had “no knowledge of the reason for the government’s arbitrary action”.

Kayyalakkath added, “The government wants only the war-mongering and jingoistic media. Even one union minister has shared one such fake post.” The minister in question is Kiren Rijiju, who had incorrectly claimed on X that the Navy had attacked Karachi. 

Qazi Zaid, editor of Free Press Kashmir, told Newslaundry that his weekly magazine hadn’t violated any policies on X or any local laws. 

“We are not aware of any individual post or story that violated the platform’s policies, or local laws. Our reportage is consistent with journalistic standards and public interest reporting,” he said. “Without transparency from the platform regarding the triggering content or legal basis, we are unable to confirm what specifically led to this action.”

Zaid said Free Press Kashmir’s Facebook page was previously restricted, and once even deleted, in the past. “Each time, our attempts to seek clarity have been met with no responses from the social media platforms, or templated responses that do not address the merits of our case,” he said.

He also said that redressal mechanisms on X and Facebook have taken a turn for the worse. 

“There has been a shift in the responsiveness and accountability mechanisms on X and Facebook over the past few years. The redressal mechanisms are opaque, and almost cannot be challenged. This raises broader concerns about access to digital public spaces for media organizations,” he said. 

Qazi Shibli, editor of The Kashmiriyat, said the news portal had been reporting from the ground.

“There has been no misinformation from our side. We have been reporting from ground zero on the current situation. We have been going to the most affected border areas and reporting from there. There are at least two-three reports coming from the border areas every day,” he said.   

The Kashmiriyat issued a statement saying the block on X “feels like an erasure”. “It’s not just a platform that disappeared, it’s part of a journey of how Kashmiri journalism has evolved these years,” it said. 

Earlier too, Shibli said, Kashmiriyat’s content was taken down by X. He said the portal is facing a court case for its reportage and he himself was jailed in 2020 under the Public Safety Act – a move that had been condemned by media associations at the time. 

‘Directly against interests of public’: Media statements

Several media groups issued statements in support of The Wire and of journalists and organisations whose accounts were withheld on X. 

The Press Club of India said, “While there is no doubt that the media as a whole has to conduct itself responsibly, the arbitrary blocks on some social-media accounts of media-persons and news organizations, the orders for which have not been made public, must be lifted…Such crackdowns are against the freedom of the press and directly against the interests of the Indian public.”

Digipub, of which Newslaundry is a member, condemned the blocking of The Wire’s website. “This is a critical time for the nation and such actions impede rational thinking. The urgency and horrors of battle cannot be used as an excuse to silence independent journalism,” it said.

The Chennai Press Club urged the government to immediately restore The Wire’s website and access to Maktoob’s X handle in India. “At a time when the public urgently need access to accurate and independent information such arbitrary blocks set a dangerous precedent and suppress voices committed to public interest journalism,” it said. 

Separately, the Communist Party of India’s general secretary D Raja wrote to I&B minister Ashwini Vaishnaw over “media irresponsibility” and “communal rhetoric” over Operation Sindoor. Flagging “inflammatory” and “misleading” content on news channels, he urged the ministry to act “decisively” against platforms that “promote communal hatred and spread falsehoods”.

Raja also flagged that The Wire’s website had been blocked. He urged Vaishnaw to restore access to platforms that are “responsible and act to maintain national unity”. 

‘Media must consider national interests’: Ministry

The official from the Ministry of Electronics and IT, who did not want to be identified for this story, defended the geo-restriction of the 8,000-odd accounts on X. 

“In a war situation, freedom of expression is not absolute. Journalists and media houses have to consider national interests and national unity. The country is undergoing an extraordinary situation wherein immediate action is required,” they said.

Refusing to give details about specific cases, they said: “If an X handle repeatedly violates the government advisory, which among others prohibits live reporting, action is taken against them. If a website repeatedly misleads people, the government takes action as per the law. This is the general rule followed by the government.”

The official also said their higher-ups had spoken with other media houses who were not complying with the government’s media advisory. “My bosses are talking to news channels. The Hindu published a false report. Hindu itself conceded that the report harmed India. It had to delete that report.” 

(The Hindu had tweeted that three Indian jets crashed in Jammu and Kashmir; it later deleted the post and apologised for creating “confusion”. It did not say its post “harmed India”.)

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