Social media platforms Instagram, Facebook and X blocked a parody animation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted by news outlet The Wire, said.
The outlet’s Instagram account was reportedly inaccessible in India for nearly two hours on Monday evening. Visitors saw a message saying the page was “not available” in India as the platform was complying with a “legal request to restrict this content.” The account remained accessible to users outside India or those using virtual private networks.
The 52-second animated video, uploaded on Instagram, Facebook and X on Saturday evening, satirised Modi for avoiding questions in Parliament regarding an unpublished memoir by former Indian Army chief MM Naravane. As of Tuesday afternoon, The Wire’s Instagram account had been restored, but the animation remained blocked on all three platforms.
The controversy follows repeated disruptions in the Lok Sabha since February 2, when opposition parties protested against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi being prevented from quoting excerpts from Naravane’s memoir on India-China border tensions in 2020. On February 5, Modi did not respond to the Motion of Thanks on the president’s address, the first such instance in the Lower House since 2004.
The Wire said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told the outlet it had not explicitly ordered the account to be blocked. The news site said it had “learned informally” that the ministry asked Meta to block the cartoon, and that the platform may have restricted the entire account “in error.”
Under India’s Information Technology Act, the government is required to notify a publisher before blocking content. The Wire said it received no written communication regarding the action.