India blocks X accounts of Chinese, Turkish news outlets
New Delhi: India has blocked the X (formerly Twitter) accounts of Chinese state-run news outlets Global Times and Xinhua, as well as Turkish public broadcaster TRT World.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Global Times is an English-language newspaper affiliated with People’s Daily, which is owned by the Chinese Communist Party. Xinhua is China’s official state-run news agency. TRT World is a television channel operated by the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, the country’s public broadcaster.
It remains unclear what prompted the Indian authorities to block these accounts.
It is pertinent to mention that on May 8, X stated it had received executive orders from the Indian government directing it to block over 8,000 accounts in India. Notably, the global government affairs account of X was itself blocked for a time after disclosing this information. While the post was eventually taken down, the account was later restored.
On May 9, access to the website of Indian news portal The Wire was blocked by certain Internet Service Providers. The site was restored after 24 hours. Social media accounts of other independent media organisations, including Maktoob Media, have also been blocked.
