‘Excuse Is Laughable’: Editors Guild Raps Union IT Ministry Over The Wire's Cartoon Takedown

New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India (EGI) has condemned the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MeitY's) decision to take down a cartoon on Prime Minister Narendra Modi that appeared on The Wire's Instagram page. The press body underlined that the move serves to tarnish India's credentials as an accommodative democracy and termed the excuse given as "laughable".

"It is learnt that The Wire was not given the reason why the cartoon was removed. The ostensible reason, conveyed orally to The Wire’s founders, was that the cartoon would affect the security and reputation of the country. If this indeed was the case, the excuse is laughable. Freedom of expression is a fundamental right enshrined in the constitution. Public officials, even those holding high office, are the legitimate subject of editorial scrutiny and comment, including editorial cartoons," the EGI said in a statement on Thursday (February 12) underlining that the 52-second cartoon was "harmless".

On Monday (February 9), The Wire’s Instagram page was blocked in India for nearly two hours. Readers who opened The Wire’s main Instagram page, with over 1.3 million followers, were greeted with a terse message saying the account was “not available in India … because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.” The cartoon was subsequently removed from all social media platforms and Youtube.

Also read: 'Democracies Erode When Those Entrusted With Power Fear Laughter and Start Taking Action Against It'

The press body noted that the online publication was asked to “explain its conduct” only 22 hours after the cartoon had been taken down and the Instagram page blocked. Calling the incident yet another example of the rising intolerance and scrutiny on the part of the government and its representatives, the EGI said it "serves to tarnish India's credentials as an accommodative democracy that gives space to media, including satire and humour".

The guild has also appealed to the government to undertake a serious review of the new rules and regulations pertaining to Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2026, which hasten the take down of offensive and illegitimate content prepared synthetically.

Also read: Digipub, PCI Demand Answers Over The Wire Instagram Block, Satirical Clip Takedown

Citing the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), the press body underlined that the clause pertaining to the offence is ‘overbroad’ as it could hurt creative interpretation by cartoonists and “could put in place a prior restraint on synthetically generated content that is satirical, parodical, and part of political commentary and artistic expression.”

Further, it underlined that the government should take a hard look at all the new laws that are being "wheeled in the name of taming AI" and ensure that they do not "end up undermining media freedom and smothering free speech".

Earlier, the DIGIPUB News India Foundation and Press Club of India (PCI) have also raised alarm over the recent actions against independent news platforms such as The Wire, Deshabhimani newspaper and No Cap (a Malayalam portal) warning that they signal a growing pattern of censorship and erosion of free expression.

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