New Delhi: Amid China's attempts to change the names of some places in Arunachal Pradesh, India on Wednesday banned the X accounts of Chinese newspaper Global Times and news agency Xinhua. India's action comes days after the Indian embassy in China had issued a stern warning to media outlets to verify facts before posting anything on social media.
The Indian embassy, ??in its response to Global Times' coverage of the Indian army's attacks, had said, "Dear Global Times News, we would advise you to verify your facts and check your sources before forwarding such false information."
In another post, the embassy said, "Many pro-Pakistan handles are spreading baseless claims in the context of #OperationSindoor, trying to mislead the public. When media outlets share such information without verifying the sources, it shows a serious lack of responsibility and journalistic ethics.’’
The Indian Embassy’s comments came after posts went viral from Pakistani accounts and some media outlets claiming that an Indian Rafale jet had been shot down near Bahawalpur. However, the PIB Fact Check team termed one such viral image as misleading, saying that it was of a MiG-21 crash in Punjab’s Moga district in 2021. “Beware of old images shared by pro-Pakistan handles in the current context,” the PIB warned in its post.
Earlier in the day, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs also refuted China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh and expressed strong objection to the attempt to change the names of several places in the state. The Ministry of External Affairs reiterated in an official statement that China's 'creative naming' will not change the fact that Arunachal Pradesh is and will always remain an integral and inseparable part of India. The Ministry of External Affairs said, "China continues to make futile and absurd attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. In line with our principled stand, we directly and unequivocally reject such attempts."