{
  "id": 171,
  "slug": "2023-india-blocks-gaon-savera-accounts",
  "title": "India: Gaon Savera's Facebook and X accounts blocked",
  "occurred_on": "2023-08-21",
  "occurred_on_precision": "day",
  "ended_on": null,
  "jurisdiction": "IN",
  "country": "IN",
  "continent": "asia",
  "level": "national",
  "type": null,
  "tactic_primary": "shutdowns_and_blocking",
  "leader_slug": "narendra-modi",
  "issue_of_the_day": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.",
  "outcome": "unknown",
  "outcome_on": null,
  "outcome_note": "CPJ called on India to restore access; the source reviewed does not report whether the accounts were later unblocked.",
  "granularity": "granular",
  "era": "2020s",
  "summary": "India blocked independent news outlet Gaon Savera's Facebook page and X account nationwide just before a workers' convention it planned to cover, without a public explanation from the government.{c:545}{c:655}{c:656}",
  "what_happened": "On Monday, August 21, 2023, users in India found that Gaon Savera, an independent news outlet, could no longer be reached on Facebook, where its page had become inaccessible inside the country. The following day, the outlet's account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was blocked as well. The blocks came just ahead of a workers' convention that Gaon Savera had planned to cover. Neither Facebook's parent company Meta nor the Indian government publicly explained why the accounts were blocked in India specifically, rather than removed worldwide, a pattern consistent with a government request under India's information-technology rules rather than a platform policy violation. The outlet's website remained reachable, but readers who normally found its reporting through social media lost that access during the period covered by the source reviewed.{c:545}{c:655}{c:656}\n\nUnresolved as of the source reviewed.{c:545}{c:655}{c:656}",
  "stated_justification": "Not stated in the sources reviewed.{c:545}{c:655}{c:656}",
  "effect_on_reporting": "The blocks cut off Gaon Savera's main channels for reaching readers on social media just before an event it intended to cover, without any public accounting from the authorities.{c:545}",
  "unknowns": "The sources reviewed do not identify which government agency requested the blocks or state whether they were later lifted.",
  "status": "in_effect",
  "status_updated_on": "2026-09-22",
  "external_ids": {},
  "illustration_key": null,
  "pub_state": "published",
  "published_at": "2026-09-23T01:19:25Z",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22",
  "next_review_on": "2026-12-22",
  "revision": 10,
  "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:19:20Z",
  "updated_at": "2026-09-23T02:22:48Z",
  "stage": "silence",
  "ladder_note": "India blocked an independent outlet's Facebook and X accounts nationwide ahead of an event it planned to cover, without a stated reason; the White House ban limited three outlets' building access, not their reach online.",
  "country_name": "India",
  "tactics": [
    "shutdowns_and_blocking"
  ],
  "leader": {
    "slug": "narendra-modi",
    "name": "Narendra Modi",
    "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/leaders/narendra-modi"
  },
  "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-india-blocks-gaon-savera-accounts",
  "page_meta": {
    "published": "2026-09-23T01:19:25Z",
    "reviewed": "2026-09-22",
    "sources": 2,
    "status": "in_effect",
    "statusAsOf": "2026-09-22",
    "unknowns": "The sources reviewed do not identify which government agency requested the blocks or state whether they were later lifted."
  },
  "actors": [
    {
      "slug": "narendra-modi",
      "name": "Narendra Modi",
      "kind": "person",
      "role": "other",
      "role_at_time": null,
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/actors/narendra-modi"
    }
  ],
  "outlets": [
    {
      "slug": "gaon-savera",
      "name": "Gaon Savera",
      "relation": "affected",
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/outlets/gaon-savera"
    }
  ],
  "journalists": [],
  "cases": [],
  "related": [],
  "events": [],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": 545,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 171,
      "field": "effect_on_reporting",
      "value": "CPJ calls for accounts to be restored",
      "statement": "CPJ's demand following the blocks.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 385,
      "evidence_quote": "Authorities in India must immediately unblock the social media accounts of the independent news website Gaon Savera",
      "evidence_date": "2023-08-24",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:19:23Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 385,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2023/08/india-blocks-social-media-accounts-of-gaon-savera-news-outlet-ahead-of-workers-convention/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2023/08/india-blocks-social-media-accounts-of-gaon-savera-news-outlet-ahead-of-workers-convention/",
        "title": "India blocks social media accounts of Gaon Savera news outlet ahead of workers' convention",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2023-08-24",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/545"
    },
    {
      "id": 655,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 171,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Facebook page and X account blocked on consecutive days",
      "statement": "Timeline of the two platform blocks.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 385,
      "evidence_quote": "On Monday, August 21, Gaon Savera's Facebook page became inaccessible in India, and its account on X, formerly known as Twitter, was also blocked the following day",
      "evidence_date": "2023-08-24",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:34:50Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 385,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2023/08/india-blocks-social-media-accounts-of-gaon-savera-news-outlet-ahead-of-workers-convention/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2023/08/india-blocks-social-media-accounts-of-gaon-savera-news-outlet-ahead-of-workers-convention/",
        "title": "India blocks social media accounts of Gaon Savera news outlet ahead of workers' convention",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2023-08-24",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/655"
    },
    {
      "id": 656,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 171,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Outlet described as independent",
      "statement": "CPJ's description of Gaon Savera as an independent news outlet in its report on the blocks.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 385,
      "evidence_quote": "the independent news website Gaon Savera",
      "evidence_date": "2023-08-24",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "seed-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T01:34:51Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 385,
        "url": "https://cpj.org/2023/08/india-blocks-social-media-accounts-of-gaon-savera-news-outlet-ahead-of-workers-convention/",
        "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2023/08/india-blocks-social-media-accounts-of-gaon-savera-news-outlet-ahead-of-workers-convention/",
        "title": "India blocks social media accounts of Gaon Savera news outlet ahead of workers' convention",
        "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
        "published_on": "2023-08-24",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/656"
    },
    {
      "id": 714,
      "subject_type": "incident",
      "subject_id": 171,
      "field": "action",
      "value": "Twitter and Facebook blocked, corroborated by Newslaundry",
      "statement": "Newslaundry reported that Gaon Savera's Twitter account was withheld in India on a Tuesday and its Facebook page had been inaccessible since the preceding Monday.",
      "attribution": null,
      "source_id": 466,
      "evidence_quote": "The social media handles of independent news website Gaon Savera were blocked this week. The website's Twitter account was withheld in India on Tuesday, and its Facebook page has been inaccessible since Monday.",
      "evidence_date": "2023-08-23",
      "method": "outlet_report",
      "verified_at": "2026-09-22",
      "confidence": "medium",
      "status": "current",
      "supersedes_id": null,
      "superseded_by": null,
      "supersede_reason": null,
      "batch_label": "v3-second-sources-2026-09-22",
      "created_at": "2026-09-23T02:21:56Z",
      "source": {
        "id": 466,
        "url": "https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/08/23/gaon-saveras-social-media-handles-blocked-after-correspondence-from-indian-government",
        "final_url": "https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/08/23/gaon-saveras-social-media-handles-blocked-after-correspondence-from-indian-government",
        "title": "Gaon Savera's social media handles blocked after 'correspondence' from Indian government",
        "publisher": "Newslaundry (Indian independent outlet)",
        "published_on": "2023-08-23",
        "link_state": "live",
        "link_state_since": "2026-09-23T02:35:35Z",
        "wayback_url": null,
        "wayback_saved_at": null
      },
      "url": "https://thewaronnews.com/claims/714"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": 385,
      "url": "https://cpj.org/2023/08/india-blocks-social-media-accounts-of-gaon-savera-news-outlet-ahead-of-workers-convention/",
      "final_url": "https://cpj.org/2023/08/india-blocks-social-media-accounts-of-gaon-savera-news-outlet-ahead-of-workers-convention/",
      "title": "India blocks social media accounts of Gaon Savera news outlet ahead of workers' convention",
      "publisher": "Committee to Protect Journalists",
      "published_on": "2023-08-24",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-22T12:00:00Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    },
    {
      "id": 466,
      "url": "https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/08/23/gaon-saveras-social-media-handles-blocked-after-correspondence-from-indian-government",
      "final_url": "https://www.newslaundry.com/2023/08/23/gaon-saveras-social-media-handles-blocked-after-correspondence-from-indian-government",
      "title": "Gaon Savera's social media handles blocked after 'correspondence' from Indian government",
      "publisher": "Newslaundry (Indian independent outlet)",
      "published_on": "2023-08-23",
      "link_state": "live",
      "link_state_since": "2026-09-23T02:35:35Z",
      "wayback_url": null,
      "wayback_saved_at": null
    }
  ],
  "revisions_url": "https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-india-blocks-gaon-savera-accounts/revisions",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"
  },
  "cite_as": "India: Gaon Savera's Facebook and X accounts blocked. The War On News, thewaronnews.com. https://thewaronnews.com/incidents/2023-india-blocks-gaon-savera-accounts. Retrieved 2026-09-23."
}