India has blocked the official handles of China’s state-run media, Xinhua News Agency and Global Times, on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). This decision was taken after the two platforms were found sharing false information and promoting Pakistani propaganda, especially after the recent military tensions between India and Pakistan.

The move comes shortly after the Indian Embassy in China warned Chinese media not to share "unverified facts" or "misinformation" related to India on social media. Last week, Global Times had claimed, citing Pakistani military sources, that Pakistan shot down three Indian fighter jets during Operation Sindoor. In response, India asked the Chinese outlet to “verify facts”.

Both Xinhua and Global Times are known to be official mouthpieces of the Chinese Communist Party.

"When media outlets share such information without verifying sources, it reflects a serious lapse in responsibility and journalistic ethics," the Indian Embassy had posted on X.

In another post, the embassy said that "pro-Pakistan handles" were "spreading baseless claims in the context of #OperationSindoor, attempting to mislead the public."

This warning came after several Pakistani accounts claimed that an Indian Rafale jet was shot down near Bahawalpur. The image used in these posts went viral, but it was soon identified as fake.

The PIB Fact Check team clarified that the image was from a 2021 MiG-21 crash in Punjab’s Moga district. “Propaganda Alert!” it posted. “An #old image… is being circulated with the claim that Pakistan recently shot down an Indian Rafale jet.”

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