Government bans China's Global Times' X handle for spreading unverified claims on Indian armed forces

NEW DELHI: Centre on Wednesday banned China's state-run media outlets' ,Global Times and Xinhua's X handle over spreading unverified claims on Indian military amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.This comes days after Indian Embassy in China strongly cautioned the media outlet to verify facts before posting on social media.“Dear Global Timesnews, we would recommend you verify your facts and cross-examine your sources before pushing out this kind of disinformation,” the Embassy said in a post on X, responding to the tabloid's coverage of Indian military strikes allegedly targeting Pakistan’s terror infrastructure during Operation Sindoor.In a follow-up post, the Embassy added, “Several pro-Pakistan handles are spreading baseless claims in the context of #OperationSindoor, attempting to mislead the public. When media outlets share such information without verifying sources, it reflects a serious lapse in responsibility and journalistic ethics.”The Embassy’s remarks came after viral posts from Pakistani accounts and some media suggested that an Indian Rafale jet had been shot down near Bahawalpur.PIB Fact Check team, however, flagged one such viral image as misleading, noting it was from a 2021 crash involving a MiG-21 in Punjab’s Moga district. “Beware of old images shared by pro-Pakistan handles in the present context,” the PIB warned in its own post.Meanwhile, X handle of Turkish media outlet was 'TRT World' also withheld for disseminating misinformation and fake news after India carried out precision strikes on terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 6-7Earlier in the day, ministry of external affairs also objected refuted China's claim on Arunachal Pradesh and strongly objected to its attempt to rename places in the state.Ministry of external affairs, in an official statement, reiterated that China's "creative naming" will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India."We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically," MEA said."Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India," it added.