“To comply with the orders, we will withhold the specified accounts in India alone. We have begun that process. However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands,” the company said in a post on its Global Government Affairs handle.

“In most cases, the Indian government has not specified which posts from an account have violated India’s local laws. For a significant number of accounts, we did not receive any evidence or justification to block the accounts,” the company said. “Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech.”

The Indian Express had reported Wednesday that soon after news about ‘Operation Sindoor’ broke, social media platforms such as X were flooded with misinformation related to India’s strikes on nine sites in Pakistan and PoK. The ministries of IT and Information and Broadcasting sprung into action and decided that the government will dip into its legal powers of blocking any content or account they feel is propagating misinformation related to the strikes.

X handles of Pakistan-based news organisations like Dawn and GeoNews are unavailable in India. X’s disclosure about the quantum of blocking orders offers a rare view into the expanse of blocking orders issued by India following ‘Operation Sindoor’.

“We believe that making these executive orders public is essential for transparency – lack of disclosure discourages accountability and can contribute to arbitrary decision making. However, due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders at this time,” X said.

From visuals of unrelated air strikes and incorrect claims of retaliation, to even footage lifted from video games – as India carried out ‘Operation Sindoor’ in the early hours of Wednesday, social media platforms like X became the battleground for online disinformation campaigns.

The Press Information Bureau’s (PIB’s) fact check unit has flagged several viral claims which were being made online related to the strikes. One such post contained a letter written by a scientist at DRDO about an alleged failure in BrahMos missile components. The fact check unit clarified that no such scientist works at DRDO and the letter is fake. Several old visuals showing a crashed aircraft were also circulating online with the claim that Pakistan recently shot down an Indian Rafale jet near Bahawalpur during the ongoing, which the PIB unit has deemed to be fake.

After the Pahalgam terror attack last month, the government had banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, including some leading channels like Dawn News, Samaa TV, Ary News, and GeoNews, for disseminating provocative and communally sensitive content, and false and misleading narratives and misinformation against India, its Army and security agencies.