India restores access to Chinese, Turkish X handles after temporary suspension

Accounts of China's Global Times and Turkey's TRT World on X were briefly withheld in India amid rising Indo-Pak tensions following Operation Sindoor.

By  Storyboard18May 14, 2025 9:02 PM
India restores access to Chinese, Turkish X handles after temporary suspension
Earlier this month, on May 8, X received executive orders from the Indian government demanding the blocking of more than 8,000 accounts accessible in India. (Image credits: Unsplash)

India has restored access to the X accounts of Chinese state-run media Global Times and Turkish broadcaster TRT World after briefly withholding them in response to a legal request.

The accounts became unavailable in India early Wednesday morning but were later accessible again after the suspension was lifted.

The temporary suspension was reportedly triggered by forensic findings that linked Turkish-origin drones to Pakistan's airspace violations during recent tensions, according to media reports. Meanwhile, China's state-run news agency Xinhua's X account remains suspended.

Earlier this month, on May 8, X received executive orders from the Indian government demanding the blocking of more than 8,000 accounts accessible in India. These including accounts belonging to international news outlets and prominent individual users. The order explicitly stated potential penalties, including significant fines and imprisonment of X's local employees for non-compliance.

Tensions intensified when the Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times published unverified reports alleging that Pakistan's military had shot down an Indian fighter jet. India's Embassy in Beijing promptly rebuked the outlet, urging verification of facts before dissemination. "Dear Global Times, we would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation,” it wrote in a post.

China called for an impartial investigation into the incident and reaffirmed its support for Pakistan’s sovereignty and security. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned India’s military response as an "unprovoked violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty," openly backing Pakistan and describing victims of India's strikes as "martyrs."

Meanwhile, Xinhua's X account remains suspended

First Published on May 14, 2025 9:02 PM

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