India blocks X accounts of Chinese, Turkish media over alleged misinformation on recent military clashes with Pakistan.

As of Wednesday afternoon local time, the X accounts of Chinese state news agency Xinhua, the English-language Communist Party publication Global Times, and Turkey’s TRT World were inaccessible in India.

These account blocks come amid Indian government claims that foreign media outlets have been disseminating misinformation regarding the recent military confrontations between India and Pakistan.

Last week, the nuclear-armed neighbors edged close to war, exchanging missile, drone, and shell fire in a dramatic escalation of hostilities.

The tensions erupted on April 22, following a deadly assault by Islamist extremists in Indian-administered Kashmir that left 26 civilians dead, most of them tourists. India blamed Pakistan for harboring and supporting the militants behind the attack, a charge Islamabad has denied.

After a series of strikes from both sides, a ceasefire agreement was reached on May 10, and it remains in effect as of now.

India and Pakistan have issued sharply contrasting official narratives about the clashes, while media outlets and social media accounts in both countries have circulated unverified reports.

On May 7, the Indian embassy in China issued a warning to the Global Times via a post on X, criticizing an article that alleged Pakistan's air force had shot down another Indian fighter jet in retaliation for Indian airstrikes. The claim was reportedly sourced from Xinhua.

"We would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation," the embassy's post stated.

Pakistan has claimed it downed five Indian fighter jets, while the Indian military asserted that all pilots involved in the operation had returned safely.

The embassy also cited India's Press Information Bureau, which declared that viral videos showing downed Indian jets were fake.

In the wake of the Kashmir-related tensions, the Indian government has directed X to block approximately 8,000 accounts and remove Pakistan-linked content from the platform.

This move included accounts belonging to well-known Indian media outlets such as Maktoob Media, The Kashmiriyat, The Wire, and individual journalists like Anuradha Bhasin. These actions have drawn criticism from press freedom advocates. It remains unclear whether the Chinese and Turkish state-affiliated accounts are part of the 8,000 targeted by India.

China and Turkey are both considered close allies of Pakistan.

During the recent military exchanges, Turkey criticized India for what it called “provocative steps” and attacks on civilians and infrastructure.

China, which administers a portion of the Kashmir region and maintains a complex rivalry with India over both economic and territorial interests, offered to mediate between the two countries. However, Beijing also reaffirmed its deep alliance with Islamabad, calling Pakistan an “all-weather partner” and describing their bilateral ties as “ironclad.”

As of Wednesday, India's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had not issued any public statements regarding the withheld accounts.