Social media giants Instagram, Facebook, and X have blocked access to a parody animation by The Wire. The outlet’s Instagram account was also blocked in India for nearly two hours.

Set to the tune of “Lakdi ki Kaathi”, the 52-second animation poked fun at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for evading questions in Parliament regarding retired General MM Naravane’s unpublished memoir that discussed the 2020 military standoff with China. 

The opposition had tried to highlight a section of the memoir to accuse the BJP government of failing to give clear directions to the army during the 2020 military standoff. No discussion on the matter has been allowed in Parliament so far.  

The animated video was posted on Instagram, Facebook and X at 6.30 pm on February 7, but can no longer be viewed there. However, viewers can see the clip on YouTube and on BlueSky.

The Wire's Instagram account, with over 1.3 million followers, was blocked in India for nearly two hours on Monday. Visitors to their Instagram homepage on Monday evening were greeted with a message stating that the account “is not available in India … because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content”. Only those with VPN access or visitors from outside India could access their Instagram account. 

While the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting reportedly told The Wire that they didn’t specifically block their account, the outlet said it “learned informally that the⁠ ministry asked Meta to block a 52-second satirical cartoon on Instagram and that the social media giant blocked the entire Instagram handle of The Wire ‘in error’.” As of 8.30 pm on February 9, The Wire’s main Instagram account was restored, but the cartoon remains inaccessible there and on Facebook. 

As per the IT law, the concerned ministry is mandated to inform the publisher in advance that it seeks to block a particular piece of content, but The Wire claims that “no written communication has been received”. 

This isn’t the first time that the government has shut down The Wire’s content. In May 2025, their website was blocked for an entire day following the publication of a story reporting what the CNN had said about Pakistan’s claim of having shot down an Indian Rafale jet during Operation Sindoor. To restore access, the ministry reportedly asked them to delete that story. They complied, but vowed to “pursue legal remedies to this violation of press freedom”.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police opened an investigation into the alleged leak of General MM Naravane’s upcoming memoir, Four Stars of Destiny, on WhatsApp, on February 9. The case has been assigned to the Special Cell to investigate how the unreleased manuscript, which is still undergoing vetting by the Ministry of Defence, was made public on social media platforms. 

In response, Penguin Random House India also issued a statement, noting that it holds exclusive rights to the memoir and confirming that the book has not yet been officially published.

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