X Withholds Another of The Wire's Cartoons on Modi in India, Cites 'Legal Demand'
New Delhi: A satirical animated cartoon of Prime Minister Narendra Modi being awarded an invented medal during his Israel visit and Knesset speech, presented humorously to The Wire's over 1.3 million X followers, has been "withheld in India".
The 37-second cartoon, featuring Modi, the Speaker of the Knesset and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has a jingle in Hindi: "Medal Mila Hai VishwaGuru Ko" (The World's Guru has got a medal) to the tune of 'Chura Liya Hai' from the film Yaadon ki Baaraat.
It was posted on X on February 27, 2026, but viewers of The Wire now see the following stock message for censored posts, instead of the humorous cartoon presented to its viewers:
Ironically, the hundreds of viewers' responses to The Wire's animation – appreciative, neutral, or critical – are still accessible to all on X, including more satirical animations posted by some on the platform.
Also, the post, originally in Hindi, is still available on TheWireHindi on X.
मेडल मिला है | सब चंगा सी प्रोडक्शन | @thewire_in pic.twitter.com/7xI99ebRhX
— The Wire हिंदी (@thewirehindi) February 27, 2026
A similar incident occurred on February 9, 2026. The Wire's Instagram account was blocked for over two hours in India after a satirical animated cartoon featured on its account with over 1.3 million followers.
The account was restored after The Wire approached Instagram, but the cartoon was not. The post was later blocked on X as well.
At the time, DIGIPUB News India Foundation (DIGIPUB) and the Press Club of India (PCI) had raised concerns over censorship of independent journalism, a worrying trend.
Also read: Hasna Mana Hai: The Joke Is on the Modi Government
As DIGIPUB pointed out at the time, the blocking did not appear incidental but "a growing pattern in which satire, critical journalism and dissenting voices are constrained through opaque and unaccountable 'legal demands' that undermine due process and democratic norms." It said:
Freedom of speech, guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, is foundational to India’s democracy. Satire and critical inquiry are not disruptions of democratic order; they are essential to its vitality.
This time on X, a templated notice cites a "legal demand" as the reason to withhold the post, as follows:
Yet the short explanation for what X considers a valid legal demand – "such as a court order" – says nothing about the reason for withdrawal that is editorially useful.
As the Press Club of India (PCI) had said less than three weeks ago, after Meta-owned Instagram's action of blocking The Wire and denying viewers access to the previous cartoon, "These are not the actions one expects in a vibrant, thriving democracy." PCI had also said:
Action of this kind, where no reasons or justifications are provided for censoring a media organisation’s work and removing it from public view, have become shockingly common.
PCI had also sought an explanation for the removal of the animation and the blocking of The Wire's Instagram page.
This is a developing story and is being updated.
This article went live on February twenty-eighth, two thousand twenty six, at forty-six minutes past eleven at night.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
