One day after Pakistan carried out a carefully planned air attack on several Indian towns along the western border, the news outlet The Wire, often seen as left-leaning, alleged that the Indian government had restricted access to its website across the country. “In a clear violation of the Constitutional guarantee of freedom of the press, the Government of India has blocked access to The Wire across India. Internet Service Providers say The Wire has been blocked as per the order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the IT Act, 2000,” the portal said in a statement.

The Wire has claimed that the Indian government has blocked access to its site. However, many users say they can still open it, suggesting that the platform may be using its usual strategy of portraying itself as a victim to sway public opinion or push for policy changes. OpIndia confirmed that The Wire remains accessible in India, as it posts an image of the news site on its report.  It’s possible that The Wire made the claim anticipating a possible ban following the government's order earlier in the day to restrict streaming of content from Pakistan.

“We protest this blatant censorship at a critical time for India when sane, truthful, fair and rational voices and sources of news and information are among the biggest assets that India has,” the publicity monger media outlet bewailed in its statement. However, some users have reported that they are unable to access The Wire’s website. In its statement, The Wire expressed its plans to contest the action but did not provide any details about the timeline or method of the challenge.