New Delhi: The Government of India has said that it did not ask social media platform X to block the official handle of global news agency Reuters in the country. It has categorically stated that this is a mistake on the part of the Elon Musk-owned X.
“There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem,” the Centre has said in a statement.
The Government has asked X to explain the ban and has asked the company to reverse it.
Reuters’s official X handle, as well as Reuters World, remains inaccessible in India, while its affiliated handles, such as Reuters Tech News, Reuters Fact Check, Reuters Asia, and Reuters China, can be accessed.
Users attempting to access the main account are told: “Account withheld. @ Reuters has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand.”
X, in an explanation on its help centre page states: “About country withheld content”. The message means X was compelled to withhold the entire account specified or certain posts in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order or local laws.
During Operation Sindoor, the Centre had directed X to withhold the handles of Reuters and some other media networks, after reports that these were engaged in anti-India propaganda. While many were withheld, Reuters remained accessible.
X seems to have acted late on that request and blocked Reuters’ handle in India after this order was withdrawn. The Government has clarified that the matter is no longer relevant and has asked X to unblock the handles.
“An order was issued on May 7 but it was not enforced then. X seems to have enforced that order now which is a mistake on their part. Government has reached out to X for resolving it at the earliest,” an official has said.
