Independent News Site The Wire Was Blocked Amid India Pakistan Tensions

Press Bodies Condemn Alleged Move by Information Ministry

May 10, 2025

Independent news portal The Wire became inaccessible to readers across India on May 9 after internet service providers displayed notices saying the site had been blocked on government orders, according to the media outlet. The disruption coincided with rising hostilities between India and Pakistan and came just weeks after the 2025 World Press Freedom Index placed India at 151 out of 180 countries.

Editors at thewire.in say access had been “denied as per instructions from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting” under the Information Technology Act 2000, citing internet service providers.

The Wire says it had received no advance warning and labelled the measure “arbitrary” and “inexplicable.”

“We are taking all necessary steps to challenge this arbitrary and inexplicable move,” it adds.

Arguing that “sane, truthful, fair and rational voices” were essential “at this critical time for India,” it pledged not to be deterred from providing truthful and accurate news, ending the message with “Satyamev Jayate” (Truth alone triumphs).

Some Indian news channels are spreading false information, according to a report by Scroll.in, but the government has taken no action against them.

DIGIPUB News India Foundation, a collective of digital publications including The Wire, condemned the shutdown. “If the Indian government has indeed blocked access to The Wire, then it is a blatant attack on press freedom. Silencing independent media doesn’t protect democracy-it weakens it,” the group said.

Stating that the orders for the shutdown “have not even been made public,” DIGIPUB demanded their immediate release and revocation, warning that limits on independent outlets “impede rational thinking” during “the urgency and horrors of battle.” It concluded, “We demand the immediate reversal of such censorship.”

A joint notice from the Press Club of India, the Indian Women’s Press Corps, the Press Association and the Delhi Union of Journalists described the blackout as “a grave action against the interests of a free press in India.” The organisations pointed out that several X accounts run by journalists and newsrooms, including the BBC’s Urdu service, had also been limited without explanation. They urged officials to publish any directives and allow reporters to work without interference, saying that “arbitrary blocks… must be lifted.”

The Chennai Press Club said the simultaneous blocks on The Wire and Maktoob Media constituted “a grave infringement on the constitutional guarantee of press freedom and a worrying sign of escalating censorship.” It warned that the public’s need for accurate, diverse and independent information was acute “amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan.” The club also appealed to media organisations to exercise “utmost responsibility, accuracy and restraint” so that coverage would not inflame sentiment or compromise security.

Founded in 2015 and financed chiefly through reader contributions, The Wire marked its 10th anniversary this year. Thanking supporters, the editors wrote, “Your support has kept our work going for the past 10 years and we are counting on all of us standing together at this time.”

Broadcasters and newspapers including the BBC, Deutsche Welle, The Independent, The Washington Post and New York Times reported the development. In its Friday dispatch the New York Times observed that, “With Pakistani media and several other foreign sources banned in India, and now also critical Indian websites like The Wire, it had become a guessing game which of the claims and images on social media were worth repeating.”

The press freedom report by Reporters Without Borders said that since 2014, there has been an informal but systematic breakdown of media independence, and large media houses have grown even more powerful and are increasingly aligned with the ruling party.

(Update: The Wire released a statement on the night of May 9, saying that a news report on CNN’s coverage of the Rafale “has been removed from view pursuant to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting informing The Wire at 9:41 pm on May 9 that its presence on our site is the reason for the government ordering ISPs across India to block access to thewire.in.

“The Wire is complying with what it believes is an unreasonable demand because that is the only way the government will agree to unblock our website.

Our site was blocked early in the morning of May 9 and has remained inaccessible throughout the day.”)

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